Manufacturing a Lightweight Magnesium Housing

From magnesium casting to precision machining and finished housing.

Magnesium alloys offer one of the best strength-to-weight ratios available in structural metals. For this reason, they are widely used in applications where weight reduction is important, such as aerospace components, portable equipment and professional electronics.

For this project, Omnidex was asked to manufacture a precision magnesium housing for an electronic device. The component required accurate dimensional control, good surface quality and a lightweight but rigid structure.

While magnesium offers important advantages, it also requires careful planning during production. Both casting and machining processes must be properly controlled to ensure safe and consistent manufacturing.

The Engineering Challenge

The customer required a housing that combined:

very low weight
good structural rigidity
precise mounting features
a high-quality finished appearance

After reviewing the design requirements, magnesium alloy was selected as the most suitable material.

Magnesium provides significant weight savings compared with aluminium while maintaining excellent stiffness. However, magnesium alloys must be handled with care during production because the material behaves differently from more common engineering metals.

For this reason the manufacturing process had to be carefully planned from the tooling stage through to final machining and finishing.

Magnesium Casting

The first stage of production was the creation of a magnesium casting to form the basic geometry of the housing.

Casting allowed the component to incorporate a number of features directly in the initial form, including ribs, openings and mounting bosses. This reduced the amount of machining required later and helped maintain the lightweight structure of the part.

Magnesium casting requires controlled process conditions and experienced handling. Omnidex worked with specialised foundry partners to ensure the alloy was poured and cooled correctly to produce sound castings with good dimensional stability.

The result was a near-net-shape magnesium casting that provided the structural foundation for the housing.

Precision Machining

Although casting created the overall shape of the component, several features required tighter tolerances than casting alone could provide.

These areas were completed through precision CNC machining. Operations included:

drilling and tapping threaded holes
machining critical mounting surfaces
producing accurate alignment features

Machining magnesium requires careful control of cutting conditions and good housekeeping procedures. Magnesium chips and fine particles must be handled correctly to maintain safe working conditions and consistent machining quality.

Through controlled machining processes, the castings were transformed into precision structural components ready for finishing and assembly.

Finishing and Preparation

After machining, the housings underwent cleaning and surface preparation before finishing.

Surface treatment improves both the appearance and durability of magnesium components and helps protect the material in service. Proper preparation also ensures that all machined features remain clean and ready for assembly.

At this stage the components were inspected to confirm dimensional accuracy and overall quality.

Final Housing Assembly

Once the magnesium components had been cast, machined and finished, the housing could be assembled into the final product configuration.

The completed housing provided a lightweight but rigid structure capable of supporting the electronic components inside. The final design combined structural strength with reduced weight, helping to improve the usability of the finished device.

Engineering Capability

Projects involving magnesium components require careful process control and experienced manufacturing partners. From tooling and casting through to machining and finishing, every stage must be managed correctly to achieve reliable production.

Through its network of specialised manufacturers and engineering partners, Omnidex is able to support projects involving complex materials and demanding production requirements.

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