7071 Aluminum Round Bar Source

kplyler

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I have a customer (ok, it's a friend willing to pay for the material :encourage:) that needs 7071 Aluminum in a part. I need just a small amount 1" by 12" round bar (that would be enough to make several parts in case I make a mistake). I have looked at local sources, and mail order. I find plenty of 6061 and 7075, but he really wants 7071. Any suggestions? I did see a reference to some on a site based n China, but would like to use that as a last resort.

Thanks
 
Is there any real reason for 7071 over 7075?

Without studying up on the material, I would say 7075 would be a little more superior over that of 7071. That grade 7071 would have to be made to order in a fairly large quantity to get a decent price on it. I bet you could get with some of the aluminum suppliers out there, go and have them sample a few MTR's and see if any of them would meet 7071 specifications. Then all you have to do is get a heat treater to heat treat to the correct level, like a T-4, T-6, or what ever.

EDIT: I have seen aluminum grades like this that were only available in cast form. It has to do with getting the right mixture of chemicals so it can be cast with good results.
 
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There isn't a 7071 alloy. Apple custom blended an alloy for the IPhone and the Chinese started making cheap laser pointers calling it 7071
 
Is there any such thing as 7071? I simply have never heard or seen it. If you go to: www.matweb.com it does not show it either. I think a lot of the internet that says 7071 is wrong, either meant 6061 or 7075.

If your friend wants a very strong, nicely machined rod....7075 is a nice pick. Exception would be in a corrosive environment.
 
There isn't a 7071 alloy. ....snip.....

Oh, they do have it, if you want it real bad and have lots of money to spend, the aluminum company will make it for you. But as I said above, the tolerance zone for 7075 will probably yield some 7071 from heat to heat of material just like it does with steels.
 
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The rest of the World including China, have their own numbering system for metals including steel and aluminum. They do reference 7071 but that about it. It's not so much the grade as it is the hardness or temper used. I see T-3 and T-8 being specified in the Chinese stuff but there's other types of heat treats that can be done to increase strength and toughness.
 
We here on the forum may not have the required security clearance, but is there a reason we can never know the intended use of parts to be made? For ordinary parts that will stay in the earth's atmosphere, 6061 or 7075 are usually more than adequate, the heat treat chosen is often more important than the alloy. If a "customer" (or friend) insists on an unusual alloy for a part, he should be willing to provide it. If he is that picky about it, maybe he needs to find a machinist who has his 7071 on hand. Life is too short...
 
Heat treat aluminum ? , yup learn somthing new every day , can you heat treat 6061 What happens ?
Have you noticed H,T' ed Aluminum in machinery hand book "new edition" .im looking in it tomorrow

Hi Bob, can't give away any secrets I guess, R&D
 
Heat treat aluminum ? ,
Yes, from my reference notes taken from the internet: (most 6061 you buy is T6)

ALUMINUM TEMPER DESIGNATIONS

Temper designations of wrought aluminum alloys consist of suffixes to the numeric alloy designations. For example, in 3003-Hl4, 3003 denotes the alloy and "Hl 4" denotes the temper, or degree of hardness. The temper designation also reveals the method by which the hardness was obtained. Temper designations differ between non heat-treatable alloys and heat-treatable alloys. and their meanings are given below:



Non Heat-Treatable Alloys

The letter "H" is always followed by 2 or 3 digits. The first digit indicates the particular method used to obtain the temper. as follows:

- H1 means strain hardened only.

- H2 means strain hardened, then partially annealed.

- H3 means strain hardened, then stabilized.

The temper is indicated by the second digit as follows:



2 1/4 hard

4 1/2 hard

6 3/4 hard

8 full hard

9 extra hard

Added digits indicate modification of standard practice.



Heat-Treatable Alloys

-F As fabricated

-O Annealed

-T Heat treated



The letter "T' is always followed oy one or more digits. These digits indicate the method used to produce the stable tempers, as follows:

-T3 Solution heat treated, then cold worked.

-T351 Solution heat treated, stress-relieved stretched, then cold worked.

-T36 Solution heat treated, then cold worked (controlled).

-T4 Solution heat treated, then naturally aged.

-T451 Solution heat treated, then stress relieved stretched.

-T5 Artificially aged only,

-T6 Solution heat treated, then artificially aged.

-T61 Solution heat treated (boiling water quench), then artificially aged.

-T651 Solution heat treated, stress-relieved stretched, then artificially aged (precipitation heat treatment).

-T652 Solution heat treated, stress relieved by compression. then artificially aged.

-T7 Solution heat treated, then stabilized.

-T8 Solution heat treated, cold worked, then artificially aged.

-T81 Solution heat treated, cold worked (controlled), then artificially aged.

-T851 Solution heat treated, cold worked, stress-relieved stretched, then artificially aged.

-T9 Solution heat treated, artificially aged, then cold worked.

-TlO Artificially aged, then cold worked.

Added digits indicate modification of standard practice.
 
Watch out when you buy aluminum. 6061-T6 is a completely different animal than 6061-T0. The T0 is not heat treated, and is gummy, nasty to machine, and weak. It is intended for heat treatment after bending and forming. Take a little time and try to understand the list Craig kindly posted. There are also charts that show the properties of the different alloys and heat treats, and they are worth studying as well.
 
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