RE: Is there an easy (cheap) way to identify aluminium alloy plate
ircasodle > 07-17-2018, 09:19 AM
All aluminum mechanically hardens.
If it is common pipe, tubing or extrusion, there are certain probabilities as to what it is.
If you have pipe and you cannot bend it, it is usually 60-61 T6 But could be 6063-T6
If you have pipe and you can bend it is usually 60-63 T-42 or T52
Today common extrusions are 60-63 T-52 60-61 T-6 Both weld well with 40-43 the most common filler wire.
Today 5086 what they call marine grade aluminum is very popular. But marine aluminum comes and goes in and out of favor, as the engineers find out in the real world that aluminum is probably not the material for salt water. Years ago 20-24 was marine aluminum. Now it is 5086. Before that it was 60-61
All aluminum age hardens, so you have to watch out, a T-3 or T52 hardness today might be something else five years down the road or less. So although you get away with bending it new, it will not bend old.
70-75 tooling plate of old goes as hard as T-8, it will actually stand up to brass. Today though it is more standard to find, T-7 readily available.
The other problem is that 60-61-0 material, can be heat treated, and hardened by local shops. So you never know for sure.
20-24 is a pain in the butt. Because it does not weld right with 40-43 filler, it is like a disease if it is not marked well after you cutup the sheet.
Not really anyway I know of for sure to tell the difference.
For anything important we buy fresh material, and fresh welding rod.
Plus we limit or isolate strange materials in the shop.
Under products you might see what is common right now, and back probably about 20 years.