– Getting Started & Next Steps
Aluminum is known for its versatility as a metal and as well its various advantages. It is also reckoned for being quite lightweight and the flexibility that it comes with as well makes it a material that really stands out from the other metals there may be out there for a variety of purposes and applications. Aluminum as such, looking at the attributes it has, can be cast, formed, machined and extruded which means that it can be manufactured into quite a wide variety of shapes. Subsequently it can be fabricated to be suitable for such a variety of uses.
As a result of its high versatility and its strength, we have a reason for the ever growing popularity of aluminum and this is further fortified by the many advantages it has to offer. Aluminum through the process of its extrusion can be supplied in quite complex designs. You can have the extrusion supplied in such a variety of finishes where we have such finishes as anodized, painted ad mill all of which can be then machined and fabricated. The following is a rundown on some of the amazing benefits of aluminum as a material or metal for various fabrications and modeling.
One of the benefits of aluminum that makes it a metal of a kind when it comes to fabrications and machining is its lightweight. Actually, it has a specific weight of about 2.73g/cm3 which is approximately one third of the weight of steel. This makes aluminum rather easy and cheaper to ferry as compared to the other metals. Its strength can be boosted through various alloying techniques and elements so as to provide further benefits such as increased strength and ease of formability. As a result of its lightweight nature, aluminum has been the favorite metal for a number of projects such as vehicle paneling, building cladding, and many other applications such as kitchen fitting.
One other advantage of aluminum that makes it stand out from the other metals is its corrosion resistance. By and large, aluminum has had the reputation of being corrosion resistant and one that generates naturally a protective coating. It forms such a thin coating and this is generated when the aluminum comes into contact with some oxidizing environment. It is the protective aluminum oxide layer that aids in protecting the surface of the metal from the corrosive effects and elements. You can as well improve the overall corrosion resistance of the metal through such steps as painting or anodizing.
Aluminum has as well great electrical and thermal conductivity features that have as well proved to be another great upside to it. As a metal, it happens to be such a great conductor of electricity. In as much as its conductivity is not equal to that achieved by copper, aluminum is approximately a third the weight of copper which makes it quite ideal for these purposes anyway. With it, you can be sure of a great deal of electrical resistance.