Anyone running an industry that needs the frequent use of aluminium to carry out architectural, structural or general fabrication applications will be looking to find the best aluminium suppliers. There is no way one can be sure that every aluminium supplier offers the same range or quality of products. There are many things that one needs to look into when choosing the best supplier or distributor. The experience of the company, competitive pricing with value for money, and the timely delivery and comprehensive range are some of the things that one should check out before choosing the aluminium products supplier best suited to their needs. You need a distributor with industry leading service with all your aluminium needs and extensive range of aluminium supplies.
The expertise of the aluminium suppliers
One of the most important qualities that aluminium suppliers should have is great knowledge aluminium. There are many companies that will store and ship this popular metal, but do not have any knowledge about the metal, its properties, its alloy, its uses and its limitations. An expert in aluminium metal will know about how soft the metal is, the importance of storing it dry and away from moisture, how it can get easily damaged when transported with heavier metals and so on. Hence, when one is choosing the metal supplier, it is important to choose a aluminium suppliers that knows aluminium in and out and also has a good reputation as an aluminium distributor in the market.
Value for money
Fair pricing is a factor you should consider when in the market for a reliable aluminium distributor. Reasonable rates are always a plus, especially if you’re looking to buy aluminium in large quantities. Many aluminium suppliers offer a comprehensive selection of products, but if their prices are too steep and they offer few discounts, it can be problematic buying the quantities you need. It’s essential to choose a company whose focus is on providing high quality products at competitive prices. This way, you’ll have the room on your budget to buy a suitable number of the products you require. A good supplier doesn’t just understand their business, they understand yours as well.
When purchasing aluminium there are many ways to take out cost;
- Buying material in the optimum sheet size can eliminate potential downstream machining processes in your operation.
- Choosing the correct alloy for your application.
- Buying protective coated sheet to prevent handling scratched during fabrication.
If you are not dealing with a supplier that is talking about these options, you should be.
Not all aluminium is the same
Aluminium is produced around the world by hundreds of mills, yet not all by the same processes. Ensure your aluminium supplier or distributor understands your fabrication processes and the end use. This can dictate the right aluminium product and the right method of production of the aluminium for your application and also avoid costly rework if the wrong type of aluminium is used.
Service and delivery performance
Good aluminium suppliers can be relied upon for prompt service. As a customer, you expect to receive your order within a reasonable time-frame, but more importantly, you expect to get it on the day it was promised. A professional supplier follows through with their commitment. The last thing you need is a supplier that doesn’t understand your business, or what it is costing you to have a piece of equipment sitting idle waiting for material to arrive that never did. Worthwhile distributors have the inventory, information tools, and customer service people to complete even the most complex orders quickly, efficiently and accurately. With the right aluminium supplier, you will feel confident that your parts will be ordered and filled to the correct specifications, packaged appropriately, and be delivered on time. They will have a full range of aluminium products available ex stock including plate products.
Aluminium has a high resistance to corrosion because on surfaces exposed to the atmosphere, a thin transparent oxide skin forms immediately and protects the metal from further oxidation. Unless exposed to some substance or condition, which destroys this protective oxide coating, the metal remains protected against corrosion. Aluminium is highly resistant to weathering, even in industrial atmospheres, which often corrode other metals. It is also corrosion-resistant to attack by some acids. The metal can safely be used in the presence of certain mild alkalis with the aid of inhibitors, but general direct contact with alkaline substances should be avoided as these attack the oxide skin and are therefore corrosive to aluminium.
Some alloys are less resistant to corrosion than others, particularly certain high-strength alloys. Such alloys in some forms can be protected effectively from the majority of corrosive influences by cladding the exposed surface or surfaces with a thin layer of an appropriate aluminium alloy.
In accordance with sound design principles, direct contact with certain other metals should be avoided in the presence of an electrolyte as galvanic corrosion of the aluminium may take place in the vicinity of the contact area. Several well-established preventative measures can be applied.
The fact that aluminium is nontoxic was discovered in the early days of the industry. It is this characteristic which enables the metal to be used in cooking utensils without any harmful effects of the body, and today a great deal of aluminium equipment is used by food processing industries. The same characteristic permits aluminium foil wrapping to be used safely in direct contact with food products
Can aluminium corrode in concrete
Under perfectly dry conditions aluminium buried in concrete needs no protection. In practice, however, such conditions are rarely achieved. It is therefore recommended that all aluminium surfaces in direct contact with concrete be coated with bituminous paint. The steel reinforcement used in concrete should never be allowed to come in contact with aluminium since galvanic corrosion will result. The chemical reactions may also cause spalling of the concrete.
Aluminium in contact with other metals
When two dissimilar metals are coupled together in the presence of moisture a galvanic reaction may occur and cause corrosion of one of the metals. In such a circumstance the electrolytic couple formed produces a current flow from the less noble metal to the more noble metal and results in corrosion of the less noble metal. The phenomenon is usually consistent with the relative positions of the two metals in the electro-chemical series. Galvanic corrosion may be prevented by insulating dissimilar metals from each other with an electrically inert, non-absorbent barrier.
Aluminium will be attacked when subject to a galvanic reaction with mild steel, copper, brass, stainless steel and titanium.
Zinc will be attacked when subject to a galvanic reaction with aluminium.
Yes. It is frequently useful to coat the surface of aluminium parts with a film of another metal to achieve a specific appearance, increase resistance to wear, abrasion, or erosion, increase electrical conductivity, improve solderability, or improve frictional characteristics. Chromium plating of aluminium provides increased wear resistance, reduced friction and decorative functionality.
Will aluminium react with galvanised steel
Steel components to be used in contact with aluminium may be galvanised. Zinc being generally anodic to aluminium, corrosion is to be expected at the zinc but not at the aluminium surface in contact with it. After a period, however, depending on the conditions and the mass of the zinc coating, failure may be expected, and if the aluminium is left in direct contact with the steel, bimetallic attack may follow at the expense of the aluminium.
Will aluminium react with stainless steel
The behaviour of couples composed of aluminium and stainless steels depends largely upon the passivity of the stainless steel. Thus it is generally safe to couple aluminium with 18/8 fully austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel expect in the most unfavourable environments, such as continuous immersion in sea water. The ferritic and martensitic stainless steels, which are less strongly film forming, cause galvanic corrosion of aluminium in severe conditions.
Aluminium corrodes, see “Can aluminium corrode”,but it does not rust. Rust refers only to iron and steel corrosion. Aluminium is prone to corrosion. However, aluminium corrosion is aluminium oxide, a very hard material that actually protects the aluminium from further corrosion.
Is aluminium non-sparking and non-magnetic
Not so well known as some of the other properties of aluminium are its non-sparking (against itself and other non-ferrous metals) and non-magnetic characteristics. Nevertheless, these are of great importance for some uses. Its non-magnetic properties make the metal useful for electrical shielding purposes such as in busbar housings or enclosures for other electrical or magnetic equipment.
Is aluminium reflective
Aluminium is an excellent reflector of radiant energy through the entire range of wavelengths from ultra-violet through the visible spectrum to infrared and heat waves as well as electromagnetic waves of radio and radar.
Aluminium has a light reflectivity of over 80%, which has led to its wide use in lighting fixtures. These reflectivity characteristics lead to its use as an insulating material. For example, aluminium roofing reflects a high percentage of the sun’s heat so that buildings roofed with this material are cooler in summer. In the same way the excellent reflecting properties of aluminium ensure that buildings roofed with this material are warmer in winter.
Temper Designation System
As fabricated. For wrought products, there are no mechanical property limits.
Annealed, recrystallised. Softest temper of the wrought products.
Strain hardened. Strength increased by cold work, which may be followed by a heat treatment for partial softening. The H is always followed by two or three digits indicating the treatment and result:
H1: Strain hardened only, no subsequent heat treatment.
H2: Strain hardened, then partially annealed to reduce their strength.
H3: Strain hardened, then heat treated to stabilize the strength – used for alloys containing magnesium only.
The second digit indicates the strength level achieved for the alloy:
0: Annealed 1: 1/8thHard 2: ¼ Hard 3: 3/8thHard
4: ½ Hard 5: 5/8thHard 6: ¾ Hard 7: 7/8thHard
8: Full Hard (~75% reduction of area in cold work) 9: Extra Hard
Mechanical Properties
Commercially pure aluminium has a tensile strength of about 90 MPa. Its usefulness as a structural material in this form is thus somewhat limited. However, by working the metal, as by cold rolling, its strength can be approximately doubled. Much larger increases in strength can be obtained by alloying aluminium with small percentages of one or more other metals such as manganese, silicon, copper, magnesium or zinc. Like pure aluminium, the alloys are also made stronger by cold working. Some of the alloys are further strengthened and hardened by heat treatment so that today aluminium alloys having tensile strengths approaching 700 MPa have been developed.
A wide variety of mechanical characteristics, or tempers, are available in aluminium alloys through various combinations of cold working and heat treatment. In specifying the temper for any given product, the fabricating process and the amount of cold work to which it will subject the metal should be kept in mind. In other words, the temper specified should be such that the amount of cold work the metal will receive during fabrication will develop the desired characteristics in the finished product. At sub-zero temperatures aluminium alloys increase in strength without loss of ductility or brittle fracture problems, so that aluminium is a particularly useful metal for low-temperature applications including cryogenics.
Fabrication of Aluminium
Aluminium may be fabricated readily into any form. Often it can compete successfully with cheaper materials having a lower degree of workability. The metal can be cast by any method known to foundrymen; it can be rolled to any desired thickness down to foil approximately 0.006 mm: aluminium sheet can be stamped, drawn, spun or roll formed. The metal also may be hammered or forged. Aluminium wire, drawn from rod, may be stranded into cable of any desired size and type. There is almost no limit to the different shapes in which the metal may be extruded.
All aluminium alloys may be machined relatively speedily and easily, important factors contributing to the low cost of finished aluminium parts. The metal may be turned, milled, bored, or machined in other manners at the maximum speeds of which the majority of machines are capable. Another advantage of their flexible
machining characteristics is that aluminium rod and bar, particularly the free machining alloys such as 2011 and 6262, may readily be employed in the high-speed manufacture of automatic screw-machine parts.
Almost any method of joining is applicable to aluminium – riveting, welding, brazing, or soldering. A wide variety of mechanical aluminium fasteners simplifies the assembly of many products. Adhesive bonding of aluminium parts has been successfully employed in many applications including aircraft components and some building applications.
Surface Finishing
For many applications, aluminium needs no protective or decorative coating: the surface supplied is entirely adequate without further finishing. Mechanical finishes such as polishing, embossing, sand blasting, or wire brushing meet a variety of needs. Where the plain aluminium surface does not suffice, any of a wide variety of surface finishes may be applied. Chemical, electrochemical and paint finishes are all used. Many colors are available in both chemical and anodized finishes. If paint, lacquer, or enamel is used, any colour possible with these finishes may be applied. Porcelain enamels have been developed for aluminium and the metal may also be electroplated.
