Factors to Consider When Working With Alloy Sheet Metal
There are a number of materials to choose from when working with alloy sheet metal. Xometry offers a wide selection of aluminium alloys and steels with low, moderate and high carbon content.
The new ZAXME 11100 alloy demonstrates good RT formability and rapid age-hardening response during post-forming artificial aging, thus overcoming the common trade-off relationship between strength and ductility in cladded aluminum alloy sheets used in automobile body-in-white (BIW) applications.
Conductivity
In metals, conductivity relates to the material’s ability to pass heat or electricity. Its reciprocal is resistance, which refers to how strongly it resists either flow. Many manufacturers choose alloys for their ability to conduct well, and understanding how to measure a material’s conductivity can help them make a good choice.
All metals are relatively conductive compared to non-metals, and they vary widely within the same group, depending on composition, atomic size, crystal structure, and other factors. A metal’s conductivity depends on the mean free path of an electron in its crystal lattice. This means the distance it can travel without encountering scattering events, such as collisions with atoms and other elements.
Alloys undergo different processes during manufacturing, and these can impact their conductivity. For example, cold working can increase the number of scattering events and decrease a metal’s conductivity. MetalTek experts alloy sheet metal can help navigate the best choices for a particular application, whether it’s to maximize conductivity or some other property.
Strength
When it comes to working with metal, strength plays a major role. Choosing a stronger alloy sheet can mean you’re able to support more weight, which is important for projects like building construction. Other factors can also impact strength, like ductility.
This refers to how much stress a metal can withstand before breaking. It’s similar to how far you can stretch a rubber band before it snaps. It’s also important to consider the amount of force needed to break a piece, which is called its tensile strength.
The ductility of metals is how much they can bend before breaking. Generally, higher ductility means easier forming and shaping.
You can further improve the ductility of your sheet metal by using heat treatments. These include carburizing and nitriding, which add hard coatings to your material to resist wear and tear. You can also use precipitation hardening to increase your metal’s strength and resistance to corrosion.
Durability
A metal’s durability depends on how it resists failure under a number of conditions. These include corrosion, fatigue, fracture, temperature effects and more. The material’s ability to withstand these factors helps it last longer than other materials, making it ideal for certain applications.
Alloy sheet metal is a popular choice for a wide range of fabrication projects. This type of metal is typically galvanized or annealed after fabrication to protect it from corrosion and other environmental factors. It is often used in car and truck bodies, major appliances, airplane wings and fuselages, telecommunications infrastructure and store signs.
When choosing a specific alloy for a project, you should take into consideration its tensile strength and ductility. The tensile strength of the metal offers insight into how strong it is, while its ductility indicates how easily it bends and forms. For example, 6061 aluminum is an excellent option for general fabrication and is easy to form because it has high ductility. This material also has a high level of strength and is frequently used in consumer goods like baseball bats, bicycle frames and appliance parts.
Weldability
Weldability is a property of metals that describes how easily they can be welded. It is based on the interaction between a range of different material properties, including their chemical composition, deformation processes and heat treatment. It also depends on the welding technique and equipment used. However, the weldability of a metal does not guarantee defect-free welding. There are a wide variety of other causes of welding defects, such as hydrogen-induced cold cracking and porosity.
Aluminium alloys are generally very weldable. This includes the 5052 aluminium, which is optimised for sheet metal work. It is very formable at room temperature and can handle tight radii. It can be welded using electron beam, arc and gas welding techniques.
Some high-strength aerospace alloys, such as 7075, are unable to be welded because of their susceptibility to hot-cracking and stress corrosion cracking. They can, however, be welded by brazing with 5356 filler metal. Alloys that are cast tend to be more difficult to weld than those that are extruded or rolled. This is because of the presence of gas pockets, pores and shrinkage cavities that may be present in the casting.
Availability
Depending on the project at hand, choosing the correct alloy is critical. Considerations include strength-to-weight ratio, formability, machinability, corrosion resistance, weldability and heat treatability.
Alloys are made by mixing two or more metal elements to achieve a desired set of properties. Some alloys, such as bronze-a mixture of tin galvanized steel supplier and copper-occur naturally on Earth. Others, such as nickel-iron and cobalt-nickel are produced by industrial processes.
Most alloys are identified by a series of numbers and letters, which reveal the metal’s composition and family. For example, aluminum alloys are rated with four digits, starting with the number identifying the metal family and then adding a letter sharing the alloy’s chemistry.
Xometry offers a wide range of materials with different mechanical properties, making it easy to find the right alloy for your needs. Simply upload your design to our instant quoting engine, and we’ll provide you with a quote in seconds. You can then select the material you want from our inventory and we’ll cut it to your exact specifications at a local store near you.
