Wauconda, Illinois- The International Magnesium Association (IMA) has unveiled its newest application story, which focuses on the effective use of magnesium components in medical and healthcare equipment, for the August 2009 edition of Mg Showcase, the Association’s online news magazine series found on the website at www.intlmag.org. In the wake of affordable healthcare dominating debates on the national and world stage, the latest Mg Showcase issue highlights the role magnesium is playing in helping to deliver cost-effective and highly functional equipment to patients and their caregivers. The issue, Magnesium Components Critical to Medical/Healthcare Equipment, outlines three application stories that explain how the quality of diagnostics, testing and treatment are more mobile, versatile, and durable thanks to magnesium’s superior material advantages.

Mg Showcase illustrates how the Mount’n Mover arm, an innovative wheelchair mounting system, featuring 18 magnesium die cast parts, creates a more adaptable workstation for users. The arm features a Universal Quick Release Plate (QRP) with magnesium latching components so that equipment such as laptop computers, trays, and speech devices can be mounted. The easily moveable arm includes friction-adjustable joints and ergonomic levers, operable with one hand, allowing wheelchair users to maneuver safely and independently and giving both users and caregivers better options for placement and position of attached devices. Magnesium alloy AM60 was chosen for the arm components due to its strength, light weight, and fracture resistance, which significantly contribute to product functionality and safety. “We also chose magnesium for its superior flow characteristics, which allow for the high level of detail and close tolerances that are required for the locking mechanisms,” said Dianne Goodwin, president of BlueSky Design, maker of the Mount’n Mover Arm. Mg Showcase also reveals how the QRP components, manufactured by Twin City Die Casting, were produced using a high-pressure die casting method and integrating parts previously made using other methods, facilitating lower production costs than alternative processes.

Mg Showcase also examines the material performance of magnesium, such as structural strength, light weight, and durability together with the advantages of the die casting process, such as near-net shape, better accuracy, and higher production rates with reduced machining and finishing requirements, as they relate to two other applications. Magnesium housing components are incorporated into the Engström Carestation from GE Healthcare, the first workstation to integrate complete respiratory care from operating room to intensive care to the step-down unit, allowing tailored therapy using one unit throughout a patient’s hospital stay. Product engineers chose magnesium components to provide lightweight unit mobility while benefiting from magnesium’s toughness to withstand daily wear and tear.

Two magnesium die castings that form the main alignment platform and support structures are used in the Horizon® XL multi-media medical imager by Codonics. A hot chamber magnesium die casting method, which included a proprietary injection system to deposit material directly into the side wall castings, was used by Chicago White Metal Casting, Inc. to produce magnesium components that assure media are precisely aligned at all times—a critical element in obtaining accurate medical images. The decision to use hot chamber magnesium die casting, replacing graphite molded parts using zinc, allowed for faster production rates with reduced machining and finishing requirements that met or exceeded Codonic’s production demands and resulted in significant cost savings in the finished product.

To view this issue, as well previous Mg Showcase issues, visit www.intlmag.org and choose Mg Showcase under “Magnesium Resources” from the side navigation bar.

As part of its ongoing mission to be the global voice of magnesium, the International Magnesium Association has created the graphically rich and vividly descriptive Mg Showcase, a quarterly online publication that is used to inform readers about the value that magnesium brings to various market applications. Mg Showcase clearly illustrates magnesium's superior material attributes, performance, and design advantages. Market applications that have been featured in previous Mg Showcase issues include transportation, consumer electronics, furniture, medical/healthcare equipment, and more.