Aluminum

Description

Aluminum is the most used metal after steel. Aluminum alloys, together with stainless steel and titanium, are essential materials for construction and engineering. Although relatively strong, the main features are light weight and corrosion resistance (after contact with oxygen it forms the layer of Al₂O₃). Aluminum is also a common construction and engineering material because of it's formability and machinability. This alloy is used for injection molding, die casting, CNC machining and 3D printing. Among the most widespread aluminum alloys are 6061, 7075 and AlSi7Mg0,6.

Common Uses

• Electronic hardware
• Kitchen utensils
• Construction
• Engineering
• Aerospace
• Piping
• Navy

Aluminum 6061

6061 alloy is one of the most commonly used general-purpose aluminum alloys. It's a precipitation-hardened material that contains magnesium and silicon as its major alloying elements. It has good mechanical properties and exhibits good weldability. However, this alloy doesn't boast the same high strength and stress resistance as Aluminum 7075.

Aluminum 7075

Zinc is the primary alloying element of 7075 (up to 6.1% zinc, 2.5% magnesium, 1.6% copper). It has a relatively high cost that limits its use. This alloy is also sometimes referred to as aerospace aluminum due to its high strength-to-density ratio and very high corrosion resistance, which makes this material ideal for marine, automotive and aviation applications.

AlSi7Mg0,6

This alloy contains 0.6% of Mg and 7% of Si. The high percentage of silicon gives good casting characteristics. It has relatively high electrical conductivity, a moderately high melting temperature and fairly high tensile strength. It's often used for aeronautics (wings and armaments), in the automotive industry (bumpers and engine blocks) and marine (hull and accessories). Such aluminum alloys are widely used in engineering structures and components where light weight and corrosion resistance is required. Its composition makes it very suitable for molding, but it's more widely used for 3D printing using DMLS and SLM technology.

Advantages

• Light weight
• Easily machined
• Easy formability
• Corrosion resistance
• Wide range of application
• High strength-to-density ratio
• Good conductor of electricity

Disadvantages

• Low yield strength
• More expensive than some other basic metals

Machining of Aluminum Alloys

In terms of machining materials, aluminum alloys are considered to be the most economical for CNC machining/milling as it takes shorter periods of time in comparison to other metals. Aluminum machined parts are chemical resistant, electrically conductive, malleable, and possess high strength.

3D printing with aluminum

AISi7Mg0.6 and AlSi10Mg0.6 are often used for 3D printing thanks to its weldability and excellent properties. Such 3D prints are rivaled with objects fabricated using traditional manufacturing methods.

Injection molding and die casting

Among the most common methods of aluminum fabricating are die casting and mold casting. Cast aluminum is versatile, corrosion resistant, retains high dimensional stability with thin walls and can be used in almost any industry.