Aluminium and its alloys

Aluminium is a decorative, easily formed, machined, and cast metal. Alloys with small amounts of copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese are common. Strength of high purity (99.9%) aluminium is low. But alloying, heat treatment and cold work can increase strength by up to 14 times. A key property is low density. Aluminium is only one-third the weight of steel. Aluminium and most of its alloys are highly resistant to most forms of corrosion. The metal's natural coating of aluminium oxide provides a highly effective barrier to atmospheric and chemical attack, and it is nontoxic. These are all qualities that have established its use in the food and packaging industries

Cans from ingots Aluminium is a superb conductor of electricity, non-magnetic and noncombustible properties invaluable in advanced industries such as electronics or in offshore structures.

Multi-strand aluminium conductor

Other valuable properties include high reflectivity, heat barrier properties and heat conduction. The metal is malleable and easily worked by the common manufacturing and shaping processes.

Typical manufacture routes