Choosing the right aluminium alloy can be hard if you are not that familiar with all its variety.
Depending of application from and requirements choosing can be difficult. What material is available and when? Is a custom dedicated alloy developed for you? If you are an engineer and choose different materials each day probably aluminium is not a material you know all about. Maybe you even let your supplier choose the alloy for you. How do you keep track of quality and remain supplier independent? Let alone be purchaser friendly and cost effective?
Specifying the material aluminium on your drawing or 3d model requires aluminium knowledge. Let me help you. At first which basic form will your part come from?
Like the logo of aluminium metal knowledge displays there are three basic variations of aluminium categories:
Plate, Profile and Castings.
Thin plates below 4 mm are mainly in 1000 series 3000 series and the strongest in 5000 series.
Bars and profiles are 2000, 6000 and 7000 alloys. Almost all profiles are made from 6000 alloys. Bars and strips can be 2000 and 7000 alloys as well. See aluminium extrusion alloys (DUTCH). Those alloys are also often used in additional processes like forging, hydroforming or machining.
Castings are made mostly from 4000 series alloys which have 5 digit numbers like AC 46000. Commonly used for high pressure die casting is EN AC-46200 and for sandcasting EN AC-43000.
For more info see Cast alloys (DUTCH).
Second question is which requirement is crucial /most important?
Strength, elongation, corrosion resistance, malleability etc?
Depending on the number one and the order of the other aspects a number of alloys are suitable for the application.
Of course there are many more questions to consider specifying the right alloy for your application. You can contact me if you need help but before you do first answer this question:
Why is it difficult for you to specify the aluminium alloy? Two engineers will win free access to the online course via a raffle just by answering this question. Put you answer in the comment box bellow and I let you know if you are the winner. Every reaction receives the others questions you should consider designing an aluminium product by adding checklist in your comment.
Aluminium regards,
Ellen
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If you can dream it, we can build it. Our technical expertise starts at the beginning of the MIM process. First, in-house metallurgists and material scientists analyze your application goals and requirements. We consider strength, corrosion, durability, and resistance and select the most suitable materials to develop a suitable feedstock.
Although we can process BASF/ Catamold® feedstock, APP has a unique ability to select and manufacture metals and alloys that go beyond the common standards and outrival off the shelf products. Our mechanical properties exceed MPIF Standard 35. With the capability to both develop and manufacture components, we can seamlessly transfer the process of developed material directly into the manufacturing phase.
Material selection is a vital step in the design process. If you want your final product to outperform the competition, APP has got you covered. We offer: