Aluminum material application

parts: aluminum 6061 CNC machining Aluminum is a relatively soft, durable, lightweight, ductile, and malleable metal with appearance ranging from silvery to dull gray, depending on the surface roughness. It is nonmagnetic and does not easily ignite. Aluminum is a tin-white metal which melts at 640 degrees and is very light, having a density of 2.68. It is stiff and strong, and with frequent annealing can be rolled into thin foil. It is a good conductor of heat and electricity, though not so good as Copper for a given cross section of wire and used in precision CNC machining in industries like Aerospace or Medical.
Aluminum alloys have strong corrosion resistance. They are sensitive to high temperatures ranging between 200 and 250 °C (392 and 482°F), and might lose some of their strength. However, the strength of the Aluminum alloys can be increased at subzero temperatures, making them ideal low-temperature alloys.
Corrosion resistance can be excellent because a thin surface layer of aluminum oxide forms when the bare metal is exposed to air, effectively preventing further oxidation in a process termed passivation. The strongest aluminum alloys are less corrosion resistant due to galvanic reactions with alloyed copper. Aluminum really comes into its own when you combine it with other metals to make aluminum alloys. A few of the metals commonly used to make aluminum alloys include boron, copper, lithium, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, and zinc. You mix aluminum with one or more of these depending on the job you're trying to do.
Aluminum Machining in our CNC machine shop:
The primary tooling concerns when machining aluminum are: minimizing the tendency of aluminum to stick to the tool cutting edges; ensuring there is good chip evacuation from the cutting edge; and ensuring the core strength of the tool is sufficient to withstand the cutting forces without breaking. The tools employed for machining aluminum alloys range from high-speed steels, straight grade (K) of cemented car-bides (mainly fine grained) due to its low chemical affinity for aluminum, which considerably improves the surface finish, and diamond-based tools. The latter tool consider-ably reduces the adherent layer accumulated on the tool edge in the chip flow direction. We use 5 axis machines such as Haas UMC 750 and Haas VF-5SS as well as conventional milling equipment (Matsuura RA-1G, MC 500V PC 2S and MC-510 VG)
When machining aluminum, one of the major failure modes of cutting tools is the material being machined adheres to the tool cutting edge. This condition rapidly degrades the cutting ability of the tool. The built-up edge that is generated by the adhering aluminum dulls the tool so it can no longer cut through the material. Tool material selection and tool coating selection are the two primary techniques used by tool designers to reduce the occurrence of the built-up edge.
Aluminum alloy 7075 is an aluminum alloy, with zinc as the primary alloying element. It is strong, with a strength comparable to many steels, and has good fatigue strength and average machinability. It has lower resistance to corrosion than many other Al alloys, but has significantly better corrosion resistance than the 2000 alloys. Its relatively high cost limits its use to applications where cheaper alloys are not suitable. Aluminum 7075 alloy can be machined in the annealed condition. Oil lubricants are used for performing machining operations. Aluminum CNC machining and drilling
6061 Aluminum alloy is a precipitation-hardened aluminum alloy, containing magnesium and silicon as its major alloying elements. It has good mechanical properties, exhibits good weldability, and is very commonly extruded (second in popularity only to 6063). It is one of the most common alloys of aluminum for general-purpose use. Typical properties of aluminum alloy 6061 include: Medium to high strength, good toughness, good surface finish during machining, excellent corrosion resistance to atmospheric conditions, good corrosion resistance to sea water, easy to be anodized, good weldability and brazability, good workability. Aluminum alloy 6061 is one of the most extensively used in 5 axis precision machining in CNC machine shop industry.
Aluminum 5052 alloy is a non-heat treatable alloy with good corrosion resistance, especially to salt water. The machinability of Aluminum 5052 alloy is rated as fair. This alloy can be easily CNC machined in hard temper than in annealed form, and the quality of finish is better. Other than in very light cuts, all other machining should be done using oil lubricants.