What grade of aluminium for engine/footrest plates?

[ruffle]

A question for the engineers....

What grade of aluminium should one use for engine plates, footrest mounts, steering damper brackets and other similar bits?

Looking around I see things like EN485, HE30, 5083 and such.

[yoshz1]

HE30, HE15 or 6082 - You need to check their properties if you intend to weld or annodise - some are not so good for these processes.

Thera are plenty of other grades which would be suitable -just keep away from the cheese!

[z1000puddin]

I find 6082T6 marine aluminium is more than suitable.

This is easily strong enough & readily available compared to 7xxx series aircraft ally.
It polishes well and is good for annodising



Stu

[j.wilson]

6082 is my default material- I like it. It machines nicely and is strong.

Caution needst to be given to stress cracking over time and when welded you have a choice to either heat treat it to restore its strength or design the joints (and local area) to be unstressed. It is not the best for anodizing or polishing, but you can.

See some data below from alcan-
http://www.aalco.co.uk/datasheets/Alumi ... 1_148.ashx


Aluminium alloy 6082 is a medium strength alloy with excellent corrosion resistance. It has the highest strength of the 6000 series alloys. Alloy 6082 is known as a structural alloy. In plate form, 6082 is the alloy most commonly used for machining. As a relatively new alloy, the higher strength of 6082 has seen it replace 6061 in many applications. The addition of a large amount of manganese controls the grain structure which in turn results in a stronger alloy.
It is difficult to produce thin walled, complicated extrusion shapes in alloy 6082. The extruded surface finish is not as smooth as other similar strength alloys in the 6000 series.
In the T6 and T651 temper, alloy 6082 machines well and produces tight coils of swarf when chip breakers are used.

Applications
6082 is typically used in:
~ Highly stressed applications
~ Trusses
~ Bridges
~ Cranes
~ Transport applications
~ Ore skips
~ Beer barrels
~ Milk churns

Alloy Designations

Aluminium alloy 6082 also corresponds to the following standard designations and specifications:

AA6082

HE30

DIN 3.2315

EN AW-6082

ISO: Al Si1MgMn

A96082

Temper Types

The most common tempers for 6082 aluminium are:
■T6 - Solution heat treated and artificially aged
■O - Soft
■T4 - Solution heat treated and naturaly aged to a substantially stable condition
■T651 - Solution heat treated, stress relieved by stretching then artificially aged

Supplied Forms

Alloy 6082 is typically supplied as Channel, Angle, Tee, Square bar, Square box section, Rectangular box section, Flat bar, Tube and Sheet

Plate and shate can also be supplied as 6082-T651
■Extrusions
■Bar
■Plate
■Sheet
■Tube

Weldability

6082 has very good weldability but strength is lowered in the weld zone. When welded to itself, alloy 4043 wire is recommended. If welding 6082 to 7005, then the wire used should be alloy 5356.



Weldability – Gas: Good

Weldability – Arc: Good

Weldability – Resistance: Good

Brazability: Good

Solderability: Good

Fabrication

Workability - Cold: Good

Machinability: Good

[harrythemagnum]

I find 6082T6 marine aluminium is more than suitable.

This is easily strong enough & readily available compared to 7xxx series aircraft ally.
It polishes well and is good for annodising



Stu

Our factory makes aircraft control systems, and use 6082 for a lot of the machined parts, good stuff.

[yantosh]

6082 for me , unless you want to anodize black, the silicone that makes it easy to machine causes it to look milky

[ruffle]

Thanks for that everyone. 6082 it is.

[Mark Tiller]

Does anyone make these for sale?