Patent ID: 8361251

Claim:
A method of processing a magnesium-zinc-cerium alloy to improve its ductility and strength at room temperature, the method comprising: providing a magnesium-zinc-cerium alloy billet consisting essentially of, by weight, zinc in an amount of about two percent, from about 0.2 to 0.5 percent cerium, and at the balance substantially magnesium, the billet being shaped with an predetermined straight-line axis for hot deformation; and extruding the magnesium-zinc-cerium alloy billet along the predetermined axis at a temperature of at least 300° C. to form a workpiece, wherein the extrusion ratio is in the range of 10:1 to 60:1, the as-extruded workpiece having a typical yield strength value of about 135 Mpa and a typical elongation at fracture of about 27%; and, thereafter, subjecting the extruded workpiece to a further deformation step at ambient temperature.