Thixomolding: An almost forgotten technology is on its way to revolutionize the production of lightweight structural components. 28. May 2025

Recycling magnesium

As already described, one of BOLE's core strategies is recycling. It is therefore not surprising that we have also tested the direct recycling of start-up parts, sprues and overflows.

The results are that when this magnesium recyclate is fed back into the Thixomolding process, there is no change in the performance of the components.

With this knowledge, Thixomolding is the only process that offers the possibility of a closed material cycle in your company, which again significantly reduces your costs and CO2 footprint.

With its Thixomolding Machine Technology, BOLE also offers its customers a recycling technology that produces the recyclate with minimal energy input and feeds it back into the machine. The customer can decide how much recyclate he wants or is allowed to use in his components. 

But as I said, 100% recirculation of your start-up parts, sprues and overflows will have no effect on the performance of your magnesium components.

The general advantages of this Thixomolding Technology are brief.

1. Lower porosity on the components, as shrinkage is very low due to the lower input temperature of 580 to 630°C for magnesium

2. No air inclusions, as the components are coated with a honey-like melt with  flow front velocity in the source flow.

3. Better corrosion resistance, due to the lower flow front speed, a closed surface is achieved during thixomolding under pressure in the casting process.

4. At least 20% and in some cases 40% better mechanical values, such as elongation and tensile strength on the component.

5. Energy cost reduction of at least 55% compared to die casting processes. The average energy consumption, including melting and complete peripherals, is less than 0.5 kW per kilogram of magnesium cast.

6. The service life of the tools is at least twice as long and in some cases up to a factor of 3 compared to production using the die casting process. This is a massive cost reduction, especially in the area of large components and therefore tools.

Component costs

If one now compares the article costs in the production of magnesium components in die casting exactly with the production of the same component in Thixomolding, the manufacturing costs in the Thixomolding process are generally 21% to 23% lower, depending on the component.

If you now compare the longer tool service life and the cleaning intervals, you arrive at 26% to 28% lower costs.

When using BOLE recycling technology in combination with a Thixomolding machine, we achieve almost 35% lower manufacturing costs for your components.

Conclusion

We at BOLE Intelligent Machinery are firmly convinced that we can make our planet a little better with Thixomolding Technology.

We would be delighted if you could lead the way in this project together.

We will provide you with more information on the topic of Thixomolding in the near future on Foundry Planet with the hashtag "What the Hell is Thixomolding".