Aluminum component turned on a lathe

Elemental aluminum is soft and highly malleable, making it a poor candidate for mechanical purposes. Instead, aluminum is usually blended with a mix of other elements, including silicon, copper, magnesium, and zinc, then heat-treated to make the strong, lightweight alloys used today in airframes, automobiles, and various consumer products. Aluminum part turned on a lather with live tooling Aluminum component turned on a lathe. Protolabs’ machining service makes parts from two types of aluminum: 6061-T651 and 7075-T651. The T-suffix signifies how the material was processed, in this case mechanically stretched by 1 to 3 percent after heat treatment to eliminate residual stress, thus making it more stable when machined. 6061 aluminum is alloyed with magnesium and silicon, and in its wrought form offers yield strength of 40,000 psi or more. It is very corrosion resistant and weldable given the proper equipment, making it an ideal choice for low-fatigue applications such as structural components in machinery, hydraulic valve bodies, marine, and automotive parts, and most any application requiring robust, lightweight material. The other horse in Protolabs’ aluminum stable is 7075 aluminum. Harder and stronger than 6061, it offers yield strength nearly twice that of its less robust cousin, but at nearly three times the cost. Its primary alloying elements are zinc, magnesium, and copper. The American military uses 7075 in many of its firearms, connecting rods made of forged 7075 aluminum are used in top fuel dragsters, and the wing spars in Boeing aircraft are made of 7075. It’s tough stuff. In fact, the only place where 6061 wins out is in corrosion resistance, and in parts that need a little more “give” than those made of 7075. Both materials offer easy machining, although 7075 is a bit abrasive.