Aluminium Grades and also it versus polycarb

[kane]

6082 welds nicely but be careful folding it as it may fracture.

[storm]

With aluminium everything is a trade-off between hardness and flexibility.

The weakest (least hard) is a grade called 6082 which you usually find these days heat treated to a level referred to as T6. Its typical mechanical properties are below (based on a 6mm sheet) :

Tensile Strength - 310Mpa
Elongation - 10%
Hardness - 94HBS

The next level up from 6082T6 is 2014T - this is where you start to get a material that is used in aircraft production. Its significantly stronger than 6082T6 as you can see from its tensile strength and significantly harder, however the elongation figure which shows how much it will bend before failing is lower. Vortexs chassis is made from 2014, as are a number of internal parts in Storm II

Tensile Strength - 450MPa
Elongation - 7%
Hardness - 135HBS

The hardest (yet most brittle) is 7075 whose hardness is approaching that of some grades of Titanium. This is an extremley hard relativley tough material. Storm IIs wheels and also its lifting arm are both made out of this material where we needed exceptional stiffness and strength.

Tensile Strength - 540MPa
Elongation - 7%
Hardness - 163HBA

Hopefully that should give some insight into the various grades. 6062T6 is certainly the cheapest and one you can weld with, but where appropriate grades like 2014T and 7075T really allow you to benefit from their properties.

Ed
http://www.teamstorm.comhttp://www.teamstorm.com

[philip_taylor]

Thank you all.