Aluminum Sheet Metal
Aluminum is one of the most common sheet metal materials; stainless steel, copper, tin, titanium, steel and other metals can be used as well. Sheet metal comes in a range of gauges, or thicknesses, from 8 to 30 (the higher the number, the thinner the metal). Other specifications include the dimensions of the sheet and its tensile and compressive strength. Aluminum sheet metal is available in four common grades which include 1100-H14, 3003-H14, 5052-H32 and 6061-T6. Sheet metal is used to manufacture an endless list of consumer products, industrial equipment, automotive components and much more. Aluminum may be used for car doors, rocket bodies, storage tanks, aircraft panels and ventilation systems, to name a few items. The demand for custom fabricated aluminum products is very high; sheet metal will remain a staple for many applications including the military, food processing and storage, communications, automotive, computer, medical, electronics, aerospace, pharmaceutical, construction and residential uses.
Aluminum sheet metal is made from slabs and rods of aluminum and aluminum alloys that have been melted and pressed into rectangular shapes. As with most metal working processes, either high temperatures or high pressures are necessary to change the characteristics or form of the metal. Raw aluminum is melted together to remove impurities and to melt the individual chunks into one homogenous mass. It is then is heated and cooled through annealing, a process where the metal is slowly cooled or quenching, when the metal is cooled very quickly. Tempered metals have been subjected to extreme heat to increase their strength. Once the metal has been heated, the slabs are worked. For sheet metal they are fed between strong rollers that compress the aluminum, flattening it into thin sheets. Usually a series of rollers are used, each with decreasing clearances under them to gradually flatten the metal. It may also be clamped and stretched. Aluminum sheet metal may or may not be given a finish, depending on the final product. The sheets are strong, durable and have a high strength-to-weight ratio. Once ready, the sheets may undergo bending, where they are bent along a linear axis by a punch and die, cutting, where sharp tools remove the material to create precise patterns, or other forming processes before being finished.
