Processing Methods of Aluminum Alloy
Aluminum alloy is an important engineering material in modern times. It is widely used in aviation, automobile, construction, packaging, consumer goods, electrical and other industries due to its light weight, low density, good corrosion resistance, high thermal conductivity and good electrical conductivity, strong mechanical properties and good weldability and easy processing.
The processing of aluminum alloy includes physical and chemical processes, two categories. Physical processing includes cold working, hot working and surface treatment technologies. Cold processing of aluminum alloy is a common processing method in modern industry. Cold work hardening is mainly caused by the plastic deformation of materials without heating. The methods of cold processing of aluminum alloy include drawing, rolling and drawing, extrusion, forging, welding, etc. These processing technologies can not only change the shape of aluminum alloy, but also improve its mechanical properties and surface properties.
Hot processing of aluminum alloy mainly includes heat treatment and welding. Heat treatment of aluminum alloy is mainly to change the phase structure, mechanical properties and microstructure of material. At present, aluminum alloy heat treatment generally adopts quenching and low temperature aging method, and the quenching and aging temperature of different aluminum alloys may vary.
The welding of aluminum alloy is mainly divided into pressure welding, oxyacetylene welding and inert gas shielded welding. The purpose of welding aluminum alloy is to increase the strength, hardness and plasticity of the material, and improve its corrosion resistance and formability. In general, pressure welding is used when the load of the part is very large. If the load of the part is small, oxyacetylene welding can be used. When the workpiece is required to have less oxide contact and high purity, inert gas shielded welding should be used as much as possible.
The surface treatment of aluminum alloy includes mechanical polishing, sandblasting, chemical polishing, electroplating and anodizing. Mechanical polishing is mainly to achieve a certain degree of surface brightness, mainly for the beauty of the surface. Sandblasting is mainly for its strong cleaning ability, which is an efficient method for aluminum alloy degreasing, derusting and decontamination. Chemical polishing is mainly used for rough grinding and polishing, mainly for the improvement of surface brightness and smoothness of aluminum alloy parts. Electroplating is mainly used for aluminum alloy parts that require better corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity and external decoration. Anodizing is used for aluminum alloy parts that are required to have better wear resistance, corrosion resistance, electrical insulation and beauty of the surface.
In short, processing methods of aluminum alloy mainly include cold working, hot working and surface treatment. The selection of the appropriate processing method of aluminum alloy can not only improve its performance, but also reduce the production cost.
