Is magnesium difficult to machine?
Magnesium is a great metal. It’s lightweight, strong, ductile, corrosion-resistant, and weldable. However, it does have one drawback – it can be difficult to machine. Is magnesium as easy to machine as aluminum? No! Unlike other metals, like aluminum and steel, that can be easily cut in any machine shop with a variety of techniques and tools (welding, plasma cutting, waterjet cutting, etc.), machining magnesium requires special equipment (mill) to tackle the intense heat that is produced when machining this material.