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Abstract
This article reviews the literature discussing the investigations conducted in investment casting of magnesium alloys. Important steps of investment casting process were initially highlighted. Then, a brief review of the methods used to protect magnesium during melting and the mechanisms involved were presented. Different attempts made to introduce new techniques to develop magnesium investment casting were also reviewed. Majority of the investigations addressed suppression of mold-metal reactions during casting. Review of the results indicates that usage of silica-free and stable mold materials incorporated with inhibitors could minimize the mold-metal reactions. No practical achievement has been obtained and some reports conflicted in the findings. Flushing the shell mold with a protective gas before pouring process and modification of firing, mold preheating, and pouring temperatures failed to suppress the reaction and achieve the expected quality castings. Moreover, limited research studies are available discussing the mechanism of mold-metal reactions occurred during the process. The results presented in this article suggest that developing new techniques to improve ceramic shell mold magnesium investment casting through suppression of mold-metal reaction is essential. This will allow the automotive and aerospace industries to benefit from the contribution of magnesium investment castings in production of lighter, more economical, and environmentally friendly products.