Common corrosion forms of titanium alloy

Titanium alloy has a low density, high strength, corrosion resistance, good process performance, etc., it is ideal aerospace engineering (34.27, 0.85, 2.54%) structural materials. In the actual production environment, different types of corrosion will occur, Detect-Metals will introduce the common corrosion forms of titanium alloy, mainly the following categories:

1, crevice corrosion

Gaps in metal structures or defects, due to the stagnation of the electrolyte constitute an electrochemical cell and cause localized corrosion in neutral and acidic solution, contact corrosion occurs at the gap is much greater than the probability of titanium alloy alkaline solution, contact corrosion does not occur Throughout the slit surface, but eventually lead to local perforation damage.

2, pitting

In most titanium salt solution without pitting, which occurred in a non-aqueous solution and high boiling concentrated chloride solution, the solution of halide ions on the surface of the passivation film is etched titanium, titanium internal diffusion to occur pitting , pitting diameter less than its depth. Some organic medium and titanium alloy pitting phenomenon will occur in the halogen solution, titanium alloy pitting halogen solution generally occurs at high concentrations high temperature environment, in addition, sulfide and chloride pitting require specific conditions and limited.

3, hydrogen embrittlement

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE), also known as hydrogen induced cracking or hydrogen damage, is one of the early damage Failure titanium alloy, titanium and titanium alloy surface passivation film has a high intensity, sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement increases with the intensity increases, the passivation film is sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement.

4, contact corrosion

Titanium oxide surface passivation film of titanium alloy potential toward a positive potential to promote and improve the corrosion resistance of titanium acid and aqueous medium. Due to the high potential of the titanium surface, it will inevitably result in the formation of other metals in contact with an electrochemical circuit caused by contact corrosion. Titanium alloy prone to contact corrosion in the following types of media: the first is water, saline solution, water, air, HNO3, acetic acid, etc., stable electrode potential of the solution Cd, Zn, Al is more negative than Ti, anode corrosion 6 to 60 times the rate of proliferation of said second type is H2SO4, HCl, etc., Ti in these solutions may be in the passive state, it may be in the activation state, the actual contact corrosion is common during the first class solution corrosion. Usually anodized layer on the substrate surface modified form, hindering contact corrosion.

The Benefits Of Aluminum Windows And Doors

There are a variety of favorable benefits that aluminum windows and doors can supply a homeowner with. In fact, Aluminum is one of the most cost effective materials that a homeowner can invest in for their windows. If you’re on a budget then you can enhance traditional aluminum for reinforcement, but still save money.

So, for the most part a homeowner can have attractive windows and doors created from aluminum at a most exceptional value. Again, more composite materials can be added to improve the quality. Even if you use only a small portion of aluminum in the composite materials you’ll find some savings stemming from this. These are extremely reliable in many elements. Furthermore, aluminum can come in traditional features.

There is standard aluminum, which is used to construct windows and doors for those who live in the more mild regions. Then there is the thermal proof style of aluminum doors and windows. This latter style is for those who live in the regions of the United States, which face the harshest of elements, specifically the winter and summer months. Thermal proofing guarantees that high quality energy efficiency that homeowners are seeking today.

Creating A Customized Look For Homeowners Today

Many homeowners consider high-level aluminum windows and doors for sections of their homes such as a newly constructed patio. Aluminum patio doors come in a variety of styling choices that can match a home perfectly, as do the windows. If it hasn’t been mentioned aluminum windows and doors are customized and can have several finishes to satisfy a homeowner.

This is an individual preference and varies by tastes. However, aluminum windows and doors that are reinforced, or double insulated provide high security, along with that perfect energy efficiency. Many manufacturers often prefer aluminum windows themselves. They are some of the most easily customized.

They are also easily upgraded to strengthen and support a home’s exterior. One main feature that most homeowners aren’t aware of is the fact that many aluminum windows and doors come with lifetime guarantees. You won’t lose money by investing in these at all. Just a few of the reasons that aluminum windows themselves are beneficial is strictly due to the fact that these:
– Offer far more color options than any other vinyl window possibly can
– They can be customized to suit the homeowners preferred tastes
– They also have the ability to strengthen windows that are larger and in combination with others
– They can strengthen the external frame structures

Quality That Is Affordable And Provides Lasting Benefits

When it comes to aluminum doors, some of the same benefits are found. You might not think a door could be customized if aluminum, but it certainly can. Aluminum doors outlast even those traditional wooden doors. They also provide more dexterity and versatility than any patio vinyl door could hope for.

Aluminum doors and windows have a protective resistance against corrosion. It’s true that while many doors and windows will eventually corrode, and need replaced, aluminum can be far more dependable in some cases. Shockingly, aluminum windows can hold up under brute force longer than vinyl windows and wooden windows.

Even wooden windows sometimes depend on some form of aluminum reinforcement. While wood and vinyl windows used to have higher energy resilience, aluminum windows are just as reliable when they have a thermally insulated glazing system. This has become quite common today.

Aluminum is Economically Preferred by Most Manufacturers for Windows and Doors

Aluminum is simply a preferred composite material for many reasons. Aluminum can be recycled, and it offers durability that is hard to find. Aluminum holds up under extreme wear and tear too, providing perfect economic savings. Furthermore, it is the preferred material for school windows.

The reasoning behind this is simple. The windows are much larger for one thing. Secondly, aluminum simply can’t rust and it won’t create any condensation issues either. These features actually minimize maintenance that has to be carried out.
The same can be said for aluminum windows and doors in general. Both are time efficient when it comes to cleaning and maintaining them.

Furthermore, aluminum can be enhanced in any number of ways. They can be painted practically any color, or they can be used as enhancements for wood windows with regard to weather proofing and such.

The techniques for aluminum windows and doors are just really limitless from many respects. Both aluminum windows and doors are almost resistant to chipping, cracking, and even denting it would seem. Even if there is a hairline scratch, it can be easily corrected on this material. Vinyl is not so easy, and wooden windows definitely aren’t easy to correct.

You can veiw more about Tips to keep the bright of aluminum alloy doors and windows

Aluminum prices are more likely to usher in a rebound stage

China and the US weak economic data renewed investors' concerns about the global economy. Chinese aluminum and Russia reached an agreement to reduce aluminum production, but if the league had no industry collective prop up the market, aluminum prices  will not be stable easily.

1, the global economic growth and deflation deep mud among US economic growth momentum weakened, interest rates during the year hopeless, recovery of the European economy hovering on the edge of struggle, ready to expand QE, Japan once again into recession channel, the Chinese economy downward pressure yet effective relief, the government will continue to implement a more accommodative monetary policy, a more active fiscal policy.

2, since the fourth quarter of 2014, the Chinese government's policy tone has not changed, but the intensity of policy easing significantly strengthened, November 21 rate cut, February 4, 2015 a comprehensive RRR, Feb. 28 to cut interest rates again, April 19 day drop quasi one percentage point. April 30 Politburo meeting set the tone for steady growth. From August 26, 2015, lowered the benchmark lending rates and lower deposit reserve ratio by 0.25 percentage points; since September 6, down financial institutions RMB deposit reserve ratio by 0.5 percentage points. From October 1, the abolition of the proportion of loans and deposits of commercial banks do not exceed 75% of the regulatory "red line." From October 10 (city) promotion of credit assets pledged in Shanghai, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Beijing, Chongqing and other nine provinces refinancing pilot.

3, Alcoa announced that it will in the fourth quarter to the first quarter of next year and cut production capacity 503,000 tons of primary aluminum smelting and alumina refining capacity of 1.2 million tons l US October ISM non-manufacturing PMI significantly better than expected ADP employment l October than-expected non-farm payrolls increased 182,000, or to the good l hint Eurozone composite PMI-than-expected October business expansion rate is still moderate l United States in October manufacturing index from 50.2% in September fell slightly to 50.1 percent, a record low of 2 years l Eurozone October manufacturing PMI final value of 52.3, higher than the previous value and the expected 52l US October University of Michigan consumer confidence index is less than expected l GDP growth slowed to 1.5 percent in the third quarter than-expected US October l eurozone economy climate index rose to 105.9 hit the highest level in more than four years

4, pre-aluminum (9685, -140.00, -1.42%) price rebound is mainly limited by the supply, causing China policy and post steady growth policy efforts may raise the expectations. Recently finished lower aluminum prices largely steady growth and changes in the expected Fed rate hike is expected to lead to changes in common. Policies delay in landing, has failed to effectively alleviate overcapacity, weak aluminum downstream demand.

5, November 23 News: Shanghai aluminum futures traded month around 9900 yuan / ton mark integer to start before noon-day moving average price is running under. Today, Shanghai spot transactions prices concentrated in 9770-9780 yuan / ton, premium 120-100 yuan / ton, Wuxi transaction prices concentrated in 9760-9780 yuan / ton, Hangzhou turnover 9770-9790 yuan / ton. Morning disk turnover continued down the center of gravity, East offer relatively low, then the disk rose slightly, holding cargo ship to raise prices, the market focused on a large number of quotations in 9780 yuan / ton, but volume was light, the lower the market will accept the goods, did not appear very price will, weekly downstream to maintain demand procurement, today East overall turnover in general, probably will expand cash discount.

Futures: Shanghai aluminum 1601 contract opened at 9830 yuan  / ton, after hitting an intraday dropping opening brief lowest point 9750 yuan / ton, turnover rebounded center of gravity, the price of around 9,830 yuan / ton in the vicinity within a narrow range, then suffered a few short throw pressure, the price fell slightly, but then a lot of short positions which were re-pushed to 9830 yuan / ton in the vicinity finishing, printing afternoon came news cut aluminum prices, continued strong risk aversion short departure promote aluminum prices hit an intraday high 9910 yuan / ton, the end plate to close at 9870 yuan / ton, the Shanghai aluminum 1601 contract volume decreased 88,228 lots to 988,088 hand positions to reduce the 13,498 lots to 208,330 hand, continued pressure 5 day moving average, Shanghai aluminum index positions to reduce 10458 lots to 745,270 hand, focus on continuous outflow of speculative funds and the market short cuts continue to release news of impetus for aluminum.

Medium and long term, China has promulgated more aggressive policy of steady growth, lower demand for aluminum is expected to slowly improve, aluminum prices are more likely to usher in a rebound stage.

Design Mistakes in Aluminum

Background
As a rule, designers of metallic structures have learned to design using steel. When designing with aluminum, however, the engineer must not base the design on prior experiences with steel or any other material. The alloy selection, proper joint design and the choice of an optimal welding process may all be a function of the base material. While aluminum obviously obeys the same laws of mechanics as all other materials, it must be approached differently than steel when welded. Aluminum structures are not necessarily more difficult to design or weld than steel structures, they are just different.

Don’t Just Choose the Strongest Alloy
Aluminum is often chosen as a structural material for applications in which weight savings are important. Very often, the designer will choose the very strongest alloy available. This is a poor design practice for several reasons. First, the critical design limitation for many structures often is deflection, not strength. In such cases, the modulus of elasticity, not the tensile properties, will govern the design. The modulus of most aluminum alloys, weak and strong alike, is approximately the same (one-third the modulus of elasticity of steel), so no benefit accrues from using the strongest alloy. Second, and most importantly, many of the strongest aluminum alloys are not weldable using conventional techniques.

When we speak about aluminum alloys being “weldable” or “non-weldable,” we are usually referring to the alloy’s ability to be welded without hot cracking. Alloys that are extremely susceptible to hot cracking are not considered appropriate for structural (load-carrying) applications, and are generally put in the non-weldable category. Hot cracking in aluminum alloys is primarily due to the chemistry of the alloy and the weld bead. For virtually every alloying addition, the cracking sensitivity varies as alloy content increases as shown in Figure 1. Weldable alloys have a composition that falls either well above or well below the maximum cracking sensitivity. In some cases, such as that of 6061, which is very crack-sensitive if welded without filler material, the weld cracking sensitivity can be reduced to acceptable levels with the addition of a high silicon or high magnesium filler metal. The additional silicon or magnesium pushes the solidifying weld metal below the cracking sensitivity level. In other alloys, such as 7075, it is not possible to design a weld filler alloy that results in a crack-resistant chemistry. These are considered to be non-weldable.

Alloys are broken into two groups: heat-treatable alloys and non-heat-treatable alloys. A relative assessment of weldability is also given for each of these.

The non-heat-treatable alloys are composed of the 1XXX, 3XXX, 4XXX, and 5XXX series. It is not possible to strengthen these alloys by heat treatment. They can only be strengthened by cold working (also called strain hardening). The 1XXX alloys, such as 1100, 1188, or 1350, are essentially pure aluminum (99+% purity). They are relatively soft and weak, with good corrosion resistance, and are usually used where high electrical conductivity is required, such as for bus bars or as electrical conductors. They are also used in certain applications that require a high degree of resistance to corrosion. All of these alloys are readily weldable.

The 3XXX series of alloys have various levels of manganese (Mn) added to strengthen them and improve their response to cold work. They are of moderate strength, have good corrosion resistance, and are readily weldable. They are used for air conditioning and refrigeration systems, non-structural building trim, and other applications.

The 4XXX series of alloys have silicon (Si) added as an alloying element to reduce the melting point and increase their fluidity in the molten state. These alloys are used for welding and brazing filler materials and for sand and die castings. They are the least crack-sensitive of all the aluminum alloys.

The 5XXX series of alloys have magnesium (Mg) added in order to increase their strength and ability to work-harden. They are generally very corrosion resistant and have the highest strengths of any of the non-heat-treatable alloys. Increasing magnesium content in these alloys results in increasing strength levels. These alloys are commonly available in the form of sheet, plate and strip, and are the most common structural aluminum alloys. They are generally not available as extruded sections, because they are expensive to extrude. They are readily weldable, in most cases, with or without filler metal. However, there is an Al-Mg cracking peak at approximately 2.5% Mg, so care must be used in welding alloys such as 5052. It should not be welded autogenously (i.e., without adding filler metal). Weld filler metal with a high Mg content, such as 5356, should be used to reduce the crack sensitivity.

The heat-treatable alloys are contained in the 2XXX, 6XXX, and 7XXX alloy families. The 2XXX family of alloys are high strength Al-Cu alloys used mainly for aerospace applications. In some environments, they can exhibit poor corrosion resistance. In general, most alloys in this series are considered non-weldable. A prime example of a non-weldable alloy in this series, which is attractive to designers because of its high strength, is alloy 2024. This alloy is commonly used in airframes, where it is almost always riveted. It is extremely crack-sensitive and almost impossible to weld successfully using standard techniques.

Only two common structural alloys in the 2XXX series are weldable: 2219 and 2519. Alloy 2219 is very easily weldable and has been extensively welded in fabricating the external tanks for the U.S. space shuttle. This alloy gets its good weldability because of its higher copper content, approximately 6%. A closely related alloy, which is also very weldable, is 2519. It was developed for fabrication of armored vehicles. Although there are detailed exceptions to this rule, the designer should probably consider all other alloys in the 2XXX series to be non-weldable.

The 6XXX series of alloys are the alloys probably most often encountered in structural work. They are relatively strong (although not as strong as the 2XXX or 7XXX series) and have good corrosion resistance. They are most often supplied as extrusions. In fact, if the designer specifies an extrusion, it will almost certainly be supplied as a 6XXX alloy. 6XXX alloys may also be supplied as sheet, plate and bar, and are the most common heat treatable structural alloys. Although all alloys in this series tend to be crack-sensitive, they are all considered weldable and are, in fact, welded every day. However, the correct weld filler metal must be used to eliminate cracking. Additionally, these alloys will usually crack if they are welded either without, or with insufficient, filler metal additions.

The 7XXX alloys are the ones that usually trip designers up. They are the very high strength Al-Zn or Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys that are often used in aerospace fabrication, and are supplied in the form of sheet, plate, forgings, and bar, as well as extrusions. With the few exceptions noted below, the designer should assume that the 7XXX alloys are non-weldable. The most common of these alloys is 7075, which should never be welded for structural applications. In addition, these alloys often suffer from poor corrosion performance in many environments.

A few of the 7XXX series defy the general rule and are weldable. These are alloys 7003 and 7005, which are often seen as extrusions, and 7039, which is most often seen as sheet or plate. Some common uses of these alloys today are bicycle frames and baseball bats, both of which are welded. These alloys are easily welded and can sometimes offer strength advantages in the as-welded condition over the 6XXX and 5XXX alloys.

There is one other exception to the general rule that 2XXX and 7XXX alloys are unweldable. There are a number of thick cast and/or wrought plate alloys designed as mold plate material for the injection molding industry. These alloys, which include Alca Plus, Alca Max, and QC-7, are all very close in chemistry to 7075 or 2618. The designer should absolutely avoid structural welds on these alloys. However, welding is often performed on these alloys to correct machining mistakes, die erosion, etc. This is acceptable because there are only low stresses on such welds and, in fact, the weld is often in compression.

This discussion has tried to make a few points:

First, when designing a structure of any kind, don’t scroll through the nearest list of aluminum alloys and pick the strongest
Realize that some alloys, often the stronger ones, are non-weldable. Make sure the selected alloy is readily weldable    Recognize that some alloys or alloy families are more suitable for some applications than others

One more caveat: when welding aluminum, the designer must not assume that the properties of the starting material and the properties of the weld are equivalent.
Why Isn’t the Weld as Strong as the Original Base Metal?
A designer of steel structures generally assumes that a weld is as strong as the parent material, and the welding engineer who is responsible for fabricating the structure expects to make a weld which is as strong as the steel being used. It would be tempting to assume that the situation is the same when designing and fabricating aluminum structures, but it isn’t. In most cases, a weld in an aluminum alloy is weaker, often to a significant degree, than the alloy being welded.
Non-Heat-Treatable Alloys
Alloys in this category (i.e., 1XXX, 3XXX, 4XXX, and 5XXX families) are produced by a cold working process: rolling, drawing, etc. After the cold working process, the alloy is given the designation of an F temper (as-fabricated). Alloys are then often given a subsequent annealing heat treatment, after which they are classified as an O temper (annealed). Many alloys are sold in this condition. Thus the correct designation for a plate of 5083 which was annealed after rolling is 5083 – O. One of the attractive properties of these alloys is that they can be significantly increased in strength if they are cold worked after annealing. Figure 2 shows what happens to several alloys with varying amounts of cold work. For example, alloy 5086 rises in yield strength from approximately 18 ksi (125 MPa) to 40 ksi (275 MPa) and is now said to be strain-hardened. A complete designation for this alloy would be 5056-H36. The H temper designation can be somewhat complicated, since it is used to designate a number of processing variables. However, the last digit designates the level of cold working in the alloy, with 9 denoting the highest.

A common mistake in designing welded structures using non-heat-treatable alloys is to look down a list of properties, disregard the O temper material, and choose an alloy of the highest temper because it is significantly stronger. This would seem to make sense, but it often doesn’t, because the heat of welding acts as a local annealing operation, significantly weakening the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the weld. If one plots the yield or tensile stress versus distance from the weld, a curve such as that seen in Figure 3 is obtained. If the design is based on the strain hardened properties, the allowable design stress will usually be above the actual yield point of the HAZ. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, the fact is this: No matter what temper one starts with, the properties in the HAZ will be those of the O temper annealed material due to the welding operation. Therefore, the design must be based on the annealed properties, not on the strain-hardened properties. Because of this, it usually doesn’t make sense to buy the more expensive strain hardened tempers for welded fabrications. One should design with and specify the alloy in the O temper and up-gauge as necessary.

An obvious question is whether anything can be done to restore material properties after welding a strain-hardened material. Unfortunately, the answer is almost always no. The only way to harden these materials is through mechanical deformation, and this is almost never practical for welded structures.

Heat-Treatable AlloysThe situation is somewhat different when welding the heat-treatable alloys. Alloys are heat-treated by initially heating the material to approximately 1000°F (540°C), holding the temperature for a short time, and then quenching it in water. This operation is intended to dissolve all the alloying additions in solution and hold them there at room temperature. Alloys in this condition are said to be in the T4 temper and have significantly higher strengths than the same alloy in the O temper. Depending on the alloy, “natural aging” at room temperature can lead to further strength increases over time. This takes place over a matter of days or, at most, a few weeks. After that, the properties will remain stable over decades. If one buys T4 material, it is stable and the properties will not change over the course of a lifetime.

However, most alloys are given an additional heat treatment to obtain the highest mechanical properties. This heat treatment consists of holding the material at approximately 400°F (205°C) for a few hours. During this time, the alloying additions that were dissolved in the prior heat treatment precipitate in a controlled manner, which strengthens the alloy. Material in this condition is designated as T6 (artificially aged) temper, the most common heat-treated alloy temper.

Again, the complete temper designation system is actually much more complex than this, but understanding the T4 and T6 tempers will help to overcome some of the most common mistakes made when designing aluminum weldments. It is important to note that heat treatable alloys can also be strain-hardened after heat treatment, and this can further complicate the temper designation.

Remember that the aging treatment is performed at approximately 400°F (205°C). Any arc welding process gets the HAZ much hotter than this. Therefore, welding constitutes an additional heat treatment for the HAZ. Some alloys experience an additional solution heat treatment, while other alloys become overaged in the HAZ. This results in degradation of material properties, especially if the as-welded properties are compared to T6 properties. For example, the minimum specified tensile strength in ASTM B209 for 6061 – T6 is 40 ksi (275 MPa). Most fabrication codes require a minimum as-welded tensile strength of 24 ksi (165 MPa), which is a significant degradation.

As when designing for the non-heat-treatable alloys, the designer must not use the parent material properties in design. Realistic as-welded properties must be used. It is difficult to generalize what these properties are. They change from alloy to alloy and depend strongly on the starting temper of the alloy. Most design codes contain as-welded properties for aluminum alloys and these should be used.

With heat-treatable alloys, however, there are some ways to recover some of the material properties of the parent. Figure 4 shows a plot of tensile stress versus distance from the weld for 6061, revealing curves for both T4 and T6 material in both the as-welded (AW) and post-weld-aged (PWA) conditions. The PWA condition represents a weld that is subsequently aged for one hour at approximately 400°F (205°C). Post weld aging improves the mechanical properties for both T4 and T6 starting materials. In fact, often times it is better to weld in the T4 condition and post weld age after the welding process.

There is one final alternative to discuss. If after welding, the structure is given a complete heat treatment (i.e., solution treat at 1000°F [540°C], quench, age at 400°F [205°C]), all of the material properties (even in the weld) will be recovered and T6 properties will be obtained. This practice is frequently followed on small structures such as bicycle frames, but it is impractical for larger structures. Furthermore, the quenching usually causes enough distortion of the structure that a straightening operation is necessary before aging.

Conclusions
In the design of welded aluminum structures, too often the differences between steel and aluminum are not taken into account. To recap, common mistakes include:

Not all aluminum alloys are weldable. In general, the least weldable alloys are also the strongest alloys
The weld will rarely be as strong as the parent material
The HAZ will have O temper annealed properties for non-heat-treatable alloys regardless of the initial material temper    For the heat treatable alloys, the as-welded properties will be significantly lower than the properties of the T6 alloy temper    Post-weld heat treatment can help to restore the mechanical properties of welds in heat treatable alloys

5 Tips you need to learn before welding aluminum

Preweld cleaning requires two operations: oil/grease removal and oxide removal. As below, remove oils and greases first, then remove the oxide. Don’t reverse this order.

Take the following 5 tips before welding aluminum:

1. Remove oil, grease, and water vapor using an organic solvent such as acetone or a mild alkaline solution like a strong soap. You may also use citrus-based degreasers, but be sure to rinse and dry the part before welding.

2. Remove surface oxides with a stainless steel wire brush (used only for aluminum) or strong alkaline or acid. Many welding suppliers sell oxide-removal solutions in spray or squeeze bottles for local application. Exercise extreme care when handling these solutions, and again, rinse and dry the part before welding.

3. Assemble the joint. If it won't be welded immediately, cover the joint with brown Kraft paper to prevent dirt and grit in the air from getting into the joint.

4. Keep the aluminum dry and at room temperature.

5. Weld within a few days. Clean the joint again if it isn't welded within that time.

More skill about aluminum metal, visite: Detect-Metals

The application of aluminum in thermoforming tool

 

When it comes to the use of aluminum thermoforming, it refers to a process by which tools are produced from a flat sheet of aluminum under both certain temperatures and pressures. While many elect to use wood, paper, glass, or plastic for this purpose, aluminum serves as the go-to option for lasting design and functionality purposes. Thermoform tooling, when combined with advanced finishing techniques, is thought to produce results not all that different from what would be expected of injection molding. No matter the medium used, thermoform tooling is particularly effective because of its ability to offer close tolerances, tight specifications, and sharp detail.

Aluminum thermoforming is a particularly desirable option as opposed to injection molding as well because of the relative ease of using it to produce any number of parts of a particular size and shape. In addition, unlike injection molding, aluminum thermoforming allows designers to test for design flaws and to better understand customer acceptance of the design prior to mass production of it.

Much of the thermoforms ability to replace more expensive and time-consuming injection molds for design purposes can be attributed to its vacuum fixture, which is necessary when a part needs trimming. Vacuum fixtures not only serve the purpose of helping make a reverse impression of the part  but aid with the mounting of this impression into the vacuum box. This is important because the trim fixture is responsible for holding the part being trimmed under vacuum pressure as a way of ensuring consistent results.

This is particularly important given the various uses of thermoformed products in the construction of large panels, housings, and enclosures, many of which require further refining their design for optimal performance. For example, aluminum thermoforming allows for design for one-sided parts more easily than does injection molding. Whereas, moveable features requiring trimming, fabrication, or assembly might be suited for other modeling techniques or approaches. In this case, thermoforming only works on controlled sides because of this technique’s strict adherence to close tolerances. This means that the side away from the mold cannot be controlled despite being able to successfully predict what will happen on the uncontrolled side.

MOLD FORMATION SPECIFICATIONS

According to a United States-based thermoform mold manufacturer, Associated Thermoform Inc., when working with aluminum or any other material to create a mold, the desired thickness of that medium is .040” to .500”.  Using mediums of this thickness most allow the manufacturer to capture both sharp and crisp details with close tolerances including undercuts, formed-in textures, formed-in logos, formed-in hardware, as well as custom coloring. What’s more, if the design calls for a multi-dimensional design, then two individual sheets are joined together to form a twin sheet form to capture double-walled parts, similar to what would be produced if a roto-mold were made, featuring both better cosmetics and more details.

TYPES OF ALUMINUM THERMOFORMING MOLDS

There are several different kinds of thermoforming molds; Machined, Cast Aluminum, and Composite Molds. Each of these different type molds serves a different purpose, whether one’s looking for a textured or multi-dimensional design, whether one is looking to have a prototype created for future refining or if the design is more set in stone and one’s looking for a mole that can go the distance. Each of the molds varies in its effectiveness of use depending on their intended purpose as follows:

• Machined Aluminum Molds

This type mold is most typically constructed for shallow parts with small draw ratios. Aluminum is most often used in constructing these type molds because of their ability to hold cost to tolerances. When being constructed, the molds they are mounted on a control base as a way of controlling the mold temperature as the mold is formed. A number of different mold types can be machined using aluminum molds including male and female molds and vacuum- and pressure-form molds. The preferred medium for these type molds is aluminum specifically because of its ability to offer texturing as well as features including both loose and pneumatic cores and inserts.

• Cast Aluminum Molds

These type molds are generally cast using a composite material at a foundry using a pre-designed pattern. Generally built for parts, these molds feature large draw ratios. Much like Machined Aluminum Molds, Cast Aluminum Molds, can take the form of male or female molds and be vacuum- or pressure-formed. At the foundry, temperature controls are cast into both the back and sides of the molds. This allows the molds to be easily adapted for the purposes of adding texture, loose or pneumatic cores, or inserts.

• Composite Molds

These type molds are most appropriate for either prototyping or smaller scale productions. In constructing these molds, cost-effective composite materials are utilized to build the mold. Parts produced by Composite Molds are more basic in design than those produced by either the Machined or Cast Aluminum Molds. This means that they are particularly effective in evaluating fit, form, and function in deciding whether design changes are necessary. Unlike the aforementioned molds, although these molds are vacuum forming, they are not temperature controlled and have a limited lifespan.

Whichever type mold is selected, aluminum thermoform molding is a durable choice as opposed to wood, paper, glass, or plastic construction molds. Aluminum molds are effective in making sure molds are close to tolerances, tight specifications, and sharp details. Aluminum thermoforming is a particularly desirable option as opposed to injection molding as well because of the relative ease of using it to produce any number of parts of a particular size and shape.

They also serve as a particularly flexible choice when trying to create a number of prototypes, each with their own degrees of functionality because of the variability of design offered by this type medium mold. This makes aluminum a particularly desirable option when deciding between more solid and temporary construction choices. And, aside from being most cost efficient than injection molding just in terms of sheer design, aluminum thermoforming allows designers to test for design flaws and to better understand customer acceptance of the design prior to mass production of it, which also saves money.

Detect-Metals offers more useful information about aluminum metal knowledge  for everyone.

Development of aluminum alloys :6061, 5052, 3003, 2024

An alloy is a mixture of at least two or more metallic elements, usually made for the purpose of creating a new product which has greater strength and/or corrosion resistance. In this post, we’ll share development of aluminum alloys :6061, 5052, 3003, 2024 .

6061

6061 aluminum was first introduced in 1935 and has gone on to become one of the most commonly used aluminum alloys. 6061 uses magnesium and silicon as its two most important trace elements. The addition of magnesium to aluminum improves its strength. Silicon reduces the melting temperature of aluminum. Both magnesium and silicon by themselves create aluminum alloys that cannot be effectively heat-treated. However, the combination of the two produces magnesium-silicide which responds well to heat treatments.

Other trace elements commonly include chromium, iron, and copper. Iron gives aluminum additional durability and strength. Chromium prevents grain growth in aluminum alloys that contain magnesium, prevents recrystallization in aluminum mixed with magnesium and silicon, and reduces any susceptibility to corrosion. Copper increases the strength of an aluminum alloy as well as improving precipitation hardening. All of these elements combine to produce an alloy with good strength and durability, corrosion resistance, and heat-treatability.

5052

5052 aluminum’s most important secondary elements include magnesium and chromium. Magnesium increases the strength of aluminum through solid solution strengthening, which makes the 5XXX series of aluminum extremely durable. However, aluminum treated with magnesium cannot be heat-treated, which is why 5052 is primarily produced in sheet and plate forms. Chromium prevents grain growth in aluminum alloys that contain magnesium, and reduces any susceptibility to corrosion. The latter trait is important because magnesium has a tendency to corrode in the presence of iron, which is mitigated by the presence of the chromium.

Other trace elements include iron and copper. Iron gives aluminum additional durability and strength. Copper increases the strength of an aluminum alloy as well as improving precipitation hardening.

3003

3003 is an aluminum alloy whose most important secondary element is manganese. Between 96.8% and 99% of the alloy comes from aluminum. The presence of manganese, between 1% and 1.5%, marginally increases the strength of aluminum when they are combined but does not affect the corrosion resistance and ductility of the material. The manganese helps create grains in the material which nullify impurities that could lead to galvanic corrosion. This is why 3003 is one of the most commonly used alloys for the creation of soda cans. The alloy is not heat-treatable.

Other trace elements include copper, iron, and silicon. Silicon reduces the melting temperature of aluminum. Copper increases the strength of an aluminum alloy as well as improving precipitation hardening. Iron gives aluminum additional durability and strength.

2024

Introduced in 1931, 2024 is an alloy that uses copper as the largest secondary element. Copper, which makes up between 3.8% and 4.9% of the material increases the strength of an aluminum alloy as well as improving precipitation hardening. 2024 has a yield strength close to 50,000 psi, making it one of the most durable aluminum alloys available.  However, the presence of copper makes the material more susceptible to corrosion and worsens ductility. This means that 2024 is generally not suitable for welding.

Other trace elements include magnesium and manganese. The addition of magnesium to aluminum improves its strength, though combined with copper it can facilitate corrosion. When manganese is added to aluminum, it improves the strength of the material while maintaining corrosion resistance, though 2024 does not have good corrosion resistance.

Further questions can find: www.detect-metals.com

Categories and Detailed description of Aluminum furniture

Aluminum belong to the category of non-ferrous metals, due to the wider application, described separately as follows: aluminum and die-cast aluminum alloy commonly have two kinds. Which consists of up to 92% purity aluminum as the main raw material, while adding increased strength, hardness, wear resistance and other properties of the metal elements, such as carbon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, etc., composed of various ingredients "alloys."

1 Aluminum
Aluminum common such as screens, aluminum windows and so on. It is the use of extrusion process, namely aluminum and other raw materials in a furnace after melting, extruding it through a die out of shape, it can be extruded various profiles of different sections. The main properties, namely strength, hardness, wear resistance according to national standard GB6063. Advantages are: light weight of only 2.8, no rust, design changes quickly, mold into low, longitudinal elongation up to 10 meters. Aluminum appearance bright, matte points, its treatment process using anodized oxide film surface treatment to achieve 0.12m / m thickness. Beijing plans produced in accordance with product introduction aluminum wall thickness is selected to optimize the design, not the market, the thicker the better, you should see a cross-sectional structural requirements for the design, it can be uneven at 0.5 ~ 5mm. The thicker the more hard-line laymen think, is wrong view.

Aluminum surface quality also difficult to overcome shortcomings: warping, distortion, black line, punch and white lines. High level design by designer and mold and production process is reasonable, it can avoid these defects less noticeable. Check defect inspection methods should state that the line of sight 40 ~ 50CM to distinguish defects.

Aluminum use in a wide range of furniture: wall skeleton, various suspension beams, tables, table legs, trim, handles, trunking and cover, chair pipes, etc., can be ever-changing design and use!

Although the advantages of aluminum and more, but there is not the ideal place:
Without aluminum oxidation treatment is easy to "rust" causing performance degradation, inferior longitudinal strength iron products. Surface oxide layer plating scratches easily compare the wear resistance. High cost, relatively high cost iron products out of about 3 to 4 times.

2 die-casting aluminum
Die-casting alloys and profile processing methods were compared using equipment they are different, it's the raw material in aluminum (about 92% purity) and alloy materials, the melting furnace into the die casting machine molding. Company renderings die-cast aluminum imaging product shape can be designed as toys, shapes, convenient connections in all directions, in addition, the strength of its high hardness, and can be mixed with zinc to zinc-aluminum alloy.

Die-cast aluminum molding points:
1, die-casting
2, rough polishing to mold than expected
3, fine polishing

On the other hand, the production of aluminum die-casting process, should die in order to create, its cost is very expensive molds are higher than other mold injection molds. At the same time, mold maintenance is very difficult to design a material error is difficult to reduce repair.

Die-cast aluminum Disadvantages:
Each time the number of production and processing should be more than just low cost. Polishing products more complex production cycle costs than slow injection of about 3 to 4 times higher. Requirements should be bigger screw holes (diameter 4.5mm) to connect power only stable Adaptation: table legs, Pantai fittings, decorative head, aluminum seal pieces, table and coffee table backwater like, a very wide range.

Aluminum furniture, you deserve it. Detect-Metals offers best Aluminum material such as aluminum sheet metal, aluminum pipe, wide grade of aluminum plates (3003, 5052, 5083, 5086 and more)to manufacture aluminum furniture.

Aluminum products have a very powerful effect everywhere

Aluminum elements, though not needed by the body metal element, but in life made by aluminum elements aluminum products everywhere, is one of the important and rich crustal abundance of metal elements. So aluminum products What are the advantages? And in what situations can play a role? Why do not we also look through the importance of aluminum products processing aluminum products in life.

One of the most common aluminum cans workpiece is not only light weight, large volume, easy to transport trafficking; and the appearance of colorful, very popular with young people affected. Cigarettes and some candy packaging also contains aluminum element in fact, not only can make the packaging looks upscale, competition, also have some protection. Because for this type of food, the fear of the weather or other factors cause the internal reasons damp, a damp but food packaging, it can easily lead to food spoilage mold. And aluminum products processing packaging has good oxygen barrier effect of the barrier can be certain limits of water molecules in the air, the food kept in a dry environment.

Aluminum products processing furniture advertising industry still plays an important influence, for example, glass door frame will choose aluminum products, not only lightweight and easy to pull, but also conducive to daily cleaning. Some of the advertising industry billboard frame is aluminum-based products, in addition to the quality of light in the mobile hanging outside long life is one of the main reasons. Because the billboards are generally placed outdoors, if the other common metal such as iron or copper, the former is easily oxidized to rust, which is likely to be theft criminals, resulting in losses. And aluminum products have a certain resistance to corrosion, outdoor wind and rain is not easily damaged, it can remain fresh brightness appearance.

Aluminium also has good plasticity and extensibility, conductive aluminum products, although not as copper, but the effect of ventilation aluminum products processing to produce aluminum wire and cable than copper or Mom is not, and aluminum products have a certain insulation , the use of safer, in the wire and cable industry is also a popular choice.

Although there is no common aluminum, gold, silver, copper and other precious metal, but aluminum products processing was in everyday life and production in the consumption greatly, it is a essential metal products. However, some aluminum products are not environmentally friendly, can be used in the loss of aluminum products should be sent to specialized recycling facility, can not be thrown away, the destruction of the environment.

Electricity market reform: A chance to unlock investment in European aluminium production

Brussels, 19 October 2015: Electricity is the lifeblood of aluminium production. Long-term certainty of supply and a competitive electricity price are crucial to unleash the growth potential of the industry in Europe.

European Aluminium welcomesthe planned reform of the EU Electricity Market Design as an opportunity to accelerate the transition towards a more decentralised, low-carbon and competitive electricity market in Europe. This should go hand in hand with the creation of a compensation scheme that lifts the burden of indirect carbon costs passed on to Europe’s aluminium producers.

Aluminium smelters offer great benefits to the power system, such as the ability to balance supply and demand. Their flexibility to reduce electricity consumption as needed contributes to grid stability and helps tackle intermittency problems that result from the integration ofrenewables.

Driven by the automotive, building and aerospace sectors, demand for aluminium enjoys solid growth worldwide and in Europe alike. Nevertheless, primary aluminium production in Europe (EU +EFTA) has declined significantly over the last decade and is now limited to 26 sites, supplying just 31% of European consumption for this unique metal.

To unlock the growth potential of European producers, significant and strategic investments are required. Yet with amortisation periods of 15 to 25 years for large scale investments, investors require long-term certainty of supply and competitive price of electricity. It is vital that the newly designed electricity market provides thissecurity.

We have a deep understanding of the functioning of electricity markets and our industry stands ready to engage in the debate about a new electricity market design.

We propose:

1. The energy market design reform should support the possibility of voluntary long-term electricity contracts in any EU wholesale market at a competitive price and alternative pricing based formulas should be encouraged at EU level. This would represent a win-win situation for power generators and large scale electricity consumers.

2. For our market segment, national governments should encourage predictability beyond 15 to 20 years by supporting mechanismsthat shield electro-intensive industries from undue costsfor CO2 and renewables. The rule of a minimum participation for these industries (usually in the area of 20%), leaving significant exposure to external risks, should be eliminated.

3. The reform should take into account that liquid financial forward markets will improve confidence among market participants, and support mid-term contract negotiations (5 to 10 years.)

Realising the potential of Europe’s primary aluminium production is critical to make ambitious EU 2050 greenhouse gastargets a reality. 

via european-aluminium.eu

Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products to expand production

Kobe Steel, Ltd. announces that its U.S. joint venture, Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products, LLC (or KAAP), will expand its production facility to meet the growing demand in North America for aluminium forged suspension products.

KAAP will invest approximately $56.6 million in capital investments. Start-up of the new production equipment is anticipated to begin in 2017.

KAAP will install an additional melting and casting line and two forging presses. The expansion will increase production capacity up to 750,000 pieces per month. The investment also includes the acquisition of adjacent land and the construction of an additional building to house the new equipment, while looking ahead to further potential expansion in the future. About 100 people are anticipated to be hired.

By making cars lighter, aluminium suspensions contribute to improving fuel efficiency. KAAP was established as a joint venture in 2003 by Kobe Steel, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Toyota Tsusho Corporation to produce aluminium forged suspension products in North America. Production began in 2005. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in May this year, KAAP has steadily expanded production to meet the rising demand for aluminium forged suspension products owing to the increasing need for lighter vehicles. With two melting and casting lines and six forging presses currently in operation, KAAP has the top market share for aluminium forged suspension products in North America.

In North America, the world’s second-largest automobile market, car production is anticipated to continue growing. Estimated production of about 17.5 million cars in 2015 is projected to increase to 19 million cars in 2020. The need for lighter vehicles will accelerate as cars and light-duty trucks will be required to increase fuel efficiency to meet stronger Corporate Average Fuel Economy (or CAFE) standards.

Not to miss this opportunity, the new enlarged production facility will contribute to solidifying KAAP’s top position in the aluminium forged suspension products market in North America.

Via: kobelco.co.jp

Alcoa to curtail smelting and refining capacity

Alcoa is taking decisive action to curtail uncompetitive smelting and refining capacity to ensure continued competitiveness amid prevailing market conditions.

The company will reduce aluminium smelting capacity by 503,000 metric tons and alumina refining capacity by 1.2 million metric tons. Alcoa will begin the curtailments in the fourth quarter of 2015 and will complete them by the end of the first quarter of 2016.

The reductions will further improve the cost position of the Upstream business and ensure competitiveness in a lower pricing environment, including a 30 percent drop in the Midwest transaction aluminium price year-to-date.

Alcoa has been aggressively reshaping its Upstream portfolio as part of a successful multi-year strategy to position itself as a low-cost global leader in alumina and aluminium production. Once these actions are complete, Alcoa will have closed, divested or curtailed 45% of total smelting operating capacity since 2007.

More information can be viewed: alcoa.com

where to buy aluminum plate?

If you want to buy aluminum plate, you maybe search online firstly. Actually, there is a building materials market in every city, but maybe it's far and difficult to find. So where to buy aluminum plate? Let me tell you.

Since the development of global electronic commerce is so quickly, more and more people buy things whatever they want online, they can get it. Such as clothes, shoes, fruit, sofa, bed, phone, even aluminum plate and so on. We will never be worries about we can't buy something we want. We can also buy things overseas, Courier will deliver to your hands.

You can find cheapest aluminum plate price online, you have more choice to know suppliers from everywhere. There are many many aluminum plate for sale online.

We need to enjoy the convenience, but also to ensure the quality, so we need to be careful when buying, because there are many risks of online shopping, product is not good, you want to return, some businesses will choose to let you bear the return freight, it will deduct the transaction amount, you can buy a shipping insurance, if you are not satisfied with the product after such subject can return at any time, also free shipping, before the payment we keep good business communication, but also to keep the relevant conversations, this can prevent some deceptive behavior.

Finally, whether to buy aluminum plate or in reality purchase, choose reliable suppliers is the most important, a professional supplier can offer high quality, at the same time , provide the most professional services, because they have a reputation and praise degree, these are related to their professional services and product quality-related.

Don't just focus on the price, ignore the quality. Where to buy aluminum plate with cheap price and high quality?

Detect-Metals is a company that has proven experience, certified quality and dependable service providing specialty metals leadership and supply chain innovation. It is through those strengths that we have expanded abilities and supported customers for over 10 years. Customers depend on Detect-Metals for the very best in specialty metals, complete processing services, timely delivery and expert service. Detect-Metals are also the best source for providing innovative supply chain solutions worldwide.

Awareness takes alufoil container recycling to new high

New data released by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) confirms that recycling rates in Europe for alufoil trays and semi-rigid containers in 2013 reached about 55%.

The previous reporting period (2010) saw that figure rise above 50% following concerted efforts by the industry to promote the benefits of resource efficient and sustainable packaging options.

The Association says continued work by the industry to promote the value of collection and recycling; along with national campaigns are having significant effects. Increased awareness has seen consumers recognise all aluminium foil trays and containers, not only those used as primary packaging, can be recycled, as well as other kitchen products, such as disposable alufoil BBQ and oven trays.

EAFA's Container Group Chairman Peter Wallach commented, "We appreciate these positive developments, accentuating the environmental credentials of alufoil containers, in addition to their advantages for fillers and consumers."

"The diversity of alufoil containers means it is hard sometimes to target individual product areas. But, thanks to greater consumer awareness and highly innovative national and local campaigns, the message that alufoil is perfectly recyclable, from whatever source, is having positive results across Europe," he added.

The recycling rates are calculated on the basis of publicly available national aluminium recycling rates and consumption data. This data also shows the considerable extent to which consumption volumes and recycling rates vary from one country to another. Depending on the instructions to the consumers and the collection and sorting infrastructure in place, estimated recycling rates for alufoil container vary significantly and range from over 85% in Germany to exceeding 65% in Italy, above 40% in the UK and 35% in France and Spain. Aluminium recycling saves up to 95% energy use compared to its primary production, with the corresponding savings in greenhouse gas emissions. It can be recycled over and over without any loss of quality.

Alufoil trays and semi-rigid containers are used in markets such as ready meals; ready-to-cook meat, poultry and fish; bakery products; pet foods; and takeaway foods. But they are increasingly used in foodservice and event catering where their qualities of hygiene, convenience and disposability are widely recognised.

Article Source: alufoil.org

International aluminum prices fell to a low in the past six years

October 28 international aluminum prices fell to six-year low, as traders on the aluminum market this year and next year may be serious excess supply and a sharp cut is unlikely to feel nervous.

Index on the London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month aluminum (10315, -115.00, -1.10%) in early trading fell to its lowest level in June 2009 of US $ 1,460 per ton, later rebounded to $ 1,484, closed up 0.5 percent.

Macquarie analyst Vivienne Lloyd said, "The fundamentals of aluminum is very challenging, we have not seen any real large-scale production, the problem is that we are waiting for others to act first."

A survey conducted by Reuters this month, analysts on average expect the aluminum market, excess supply 815,000 tons this year, the estimated range of 44-161.7 million tons. Global aluminum consumption this year is forecast at about 54 million tons.

Root of the problem of excess supply is China, China has the world's most modern, but also the lowest-cost smelters. China has many high-cost plants, though at a loss, but continued to produce large amounts of aluminum.


The world's largest aluminum producer, United Company Rusal confirmed that the company is evaluating a number of the aluminum business. The company produced 91.6 million tonnes of aluminum in the third quarter, an increase of 1% in the first three quarters of production increased by 1.4% to 2.7 million tons of aluminum.

A trader said, "UC RUSAL said previously cut, but so weak ruble, why cut it? Aluminum prices, but they are more dollar-convertible ruble, their cost is calculated in rubles . "

Marex Spectron data also point to the aluminum market bearish sentiment, more speculators in October 22 Short aluminum. Marex said the latest estimates show that aluminum speculative short interest increased 45,000, to 158,000.

After the market close, the Fed announced to keep interest rates unchanged, but played down the negative impact of the global economic factors, in December to retain the possibility of tightening monetary policy at a meeting.