5005 aluminium alloy
 

hey guys,

has anybody ever made anything from 5005 grade aluminium alloy. i'm looking for some 6061 or 7075 grade alum to make a few things from but when i went looking in some shops here in canberra, all i got was 5005 or 5083.

so i'm wondering, will 5005 or 5083 grade be good enough for a emaxx chassis and braces? has anyone made anything out of 5005 or 5083? does it work?

and can anyone suggest a few places where i might be able to get some 6061 or 7075? i know of McMaster-Carr, but shipping a 12 X 24inch aluminium plate to australia isn't going to be cheap.

thanks.

12"x24" alum even 1/4" thick shouldn't weigh more than 2lbs. Alum is pretty light, thats the benefit of using it.

i know but the size of it, 12 X 24 inches, should influence the cost of shipping,

anyway, anybody ever used 5005 grade alum? good? bad? why?

.098 lbs per cubic inch, so that's a little over 7 lbs.

I've never use 50 series. Its in the non heat treatable series of AL, so its going to be a bit on the soft side. It'll be super easy to cut, bend, and weld, and probably fairly corrosion resistant. But....every thing has a but.....those same characteristics that make it easy to work, also make it weaker. So you may see more bent parts, and threads in it wont hold well (not that threads in AL are all that good to start with). My choice would be 7075 if you arent going to weld it, 6061 if you are welding

Send a PM to MetalMan.. :whistle:

IE. MetalMAN.. "cough":wink:

I'll save some trouble by declaring that I am unfamiliar with 5005 aluminum. However, I just looked up some information on it at McMaster-Carr and it turns out 5005 is not suitable at all compared to 6061; it has poor hardness, has a lower yield strength than PVC, and is more difficult to machine than 6061.

Sounds ike junk, what would one use it for? Roofing?

art?? ie - sculptures etc? Maybe even panelling of some sort for interior design? Small stands, like for PC monitors or things like that? I used to work in a custom lighting joint, and there are plenty of things you could use it for =)

Ahh, I see. So it is decorative al... Kinda funny, but I guess that you really do not need the better (more expensive) al for those types of things...

Aluminum alloys
 

1xxx, 3xxx, and 5xxx are non-heat treatable (harden able by applying higher temperatures). The way you harden these alloys is through imparting strain. Strain can be imparted through processing from the rolling mill, or through forming, bending, & other work hardening.

1XXX is the softest, 3XXX, next softest, and 5XXX is the "hardest", and strongest of the 3. If you by any of theses in the "O" temper, that will be the softest state you can buy that particular alloy. If you want strronger alloys, you will look at 5XXX series an look at "H" tempers. For example, 5052-O is a great alloy and fairly strong, with good formability. 5052-H32 on the other hand will be much stronger than 5052-O, but will also have less formability(ductility). There will always be a tradeoff...

2XXX, and 6XXX are the most common heat treatable (increase in Tensile and Yield, reduction in elongation when exposed to higher temperatures) alloys, and they are generally stronger in the as recieved (typically T4) state. However with the characterstic of these alloys, you don't get the rue benefit of its strength unless you apply controlled heat (350 F for 30 min). You will see the properties (TS and YS) increase by30-100% depending on the alloy. Pull it out an let it cool to ambient temp slowly on its own. Do not quench it.

All that being said, you would be better with 6061 than any 5xxx alloy if it is in the "O" temper. 6061 is a great general purpose alloy and if you really want to get the added strength, throw it in the oven after you do all your bending, drilling, machining, etc. and leave it in at 350-370 for 30 min.

7XXX is also heat treatable, but tends to be quite pricey. It will be a little tougher to work with. My recomendationwould be 6111, 6022, 6061, or 6016. Of the 6061 is the easiest to obtain.

I have used these guys for some project work and although they seem expensive, the thing I ran into from a larger bulk metal suppliers is they charge for cutting. I priced a few out here and figuring $25 - 40/cut, (some specify a minimum number of cuts if they have to cut anything), there was no price advantage and I got the real feeling that the big suppliers just didn't want to be bothered. There was never any of that attitude from these guys -

http://www.onlinemetals.com/index.cfm

The only other way is to scour scrap yards and get lucky. Used metals (esp alum and copper) are pretty pricey at a scrap places too and likelihood of finding what you want/need unscratched and straight are slim.

Try this:
http://www.mcmaster.com/

And search for item 1651T21

This is a pretty sweet site and the prices are really reasonable. They also have 5052, and 6061-T6. Both are hardened and will provide relatively high strengths. The 6061 will still be stronger.

Thanks for the link!

Hence why I buy everything from them! :yes:

I use onlinemetals all the time. I have tried some 6061 sheets from Tower, but they do not specify the temper and it doesn't bend as nicely as the 6061-T6 from onlinemetals (stress cracks easily). Mcmaster is another good place, but I tend to go to the other one more...