Lightweight, strong, durable, and widely available, aluminum is perfect for a range of industrial and commercial applications from aircraft to iPhones. Aluminum comes in a variety of alloys, with 6061 and 7075 being the most common for mechanical applications. Let's take a closer look at what each has to offer.
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6061
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7075
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- Contains magnesium and silicon
- Good all-around choice for heat-treatability, weldabilitiy, and forming
- Excellent corrosion resistance, better than 7075
- Used in food and drink packaging
- Regularly used in small aircraft, boats
- Extremely versatile
- Great for secondary operations like anodizing.
- Strong, but not quite as strong as 7075
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- Contains zinc and a small amount of magnesium
- Strong, with a higher strength-to-weight ratio than 6061
- Able to match steel in terms of strength
- Decent corrosion resistance, but not as good as 6061
- Heavier than 6061, though still highly machinable
- Used in aircraft, industrial tooling, sporting equipment
- Low density with good thermal properties
- Produces a smooth material finish
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So, which is best? That depends on your use case. But to sum it all up:
Aluminum 6061: Cost effective, medium strength, easy to work with.
Aluminum 7075: Exceptionally strong with typically smoother finishes.
One more thing! Here's a version you can print out for future reference:
