Aluminium 6061
Your guide to Aluminium 6061
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More commonly used in America
Excellent corrosion resistance to atmospheric conditions & good resistance to sea water
Very good weldability although reduced strength in weld zone
6061 is a versatile medium to high strength heat-treatable American wrought aluminium alloy.
We recommend using 6082 which has replaced 6061 in many applications and is a more cost effective and readily available alternative.
6081 is a highly machinable grade of aluminium.
This guide will take you through the main attributes, common applications, notes for designers and suitable finishing and treatments, as well as UK stock sizes and property tables. Don't forget to bookmark the page so you can refer back later.
If you are interested in 6061/6082 machined parts, please scroll to the bottom of the page for more information about our service and to request a quote.
6061 Guide: Properties, Applications and Design Considerations
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What is 6061?
6061 is a versatile medium to high strength heat-treatable American wrought aluminium alloy.
Aluminium 6061 is primarily composed of aluminium, magnesium and silicon.
UK Equivalent
Please note: the UK equivalent of 6061 Aluminium is 6082. 6082 is comparatively new, has replaced 6061 in many applications and is recommended for use by Penta Precision. Please see our 6082 materials page for further information.
Similar or obsolete designation and trade names
The most common temper is T6.
Other tempers include:
- F - As fabricated, 0 - Annealed to obtain lower strength temper
- T1 - Cooled from an elevated shaping process and naturally aged
- T4
- T4511 - Solution heat treated and naturally aged
- T51 - Cooled from an elevated sharping process and artificially aged
- T6511 - Solution heat treated and artificially aged.
Other designations include: Al6061, UNS A96061, ISO AlMg1SiCu, AD-33 (Russia), AA6061-T6, AA6061-T651, 6061T6, Alloy 61s, AMS 4027, ASTM B 209, ASME SB 209
Industry Examples: Transport | Civil Engineering | Aerospace | Marine | Construction | Automotive Industries | Food Packaging
Typical Components & Applications: Bridges | Rivets | Truck frames | Rail coaches | Boilermaking | Sail boat masts | Hulls of larger yachts | Aircraft components | Appliance fittings | Marine fittings | Bike frames | Driveshafts | Valves | Heat exchangers, air coolers & heat sinks | Water,air and hydraulic piping & tubing | Inside foil wrapper on food containers
Main Attributes:
- Excellent corrosion resistance to atmospheric conditions & good resistance to sea water
- Very good weldability although reduced strength in weld zone (can be re-heat treated & artificially aged again to restore strength)
- Medium fatigue strength
- Available in sheet, plate & extrusions
- Good surface finish
- Good toughness and structural strength
- Good machinability
Note For Designers:
We highly recommend the use of 6082 aluminium over 6061 as a more readily available aluminium alloy in the UK with similar properties.
6082 is the most common grade of aluminium in the UK so is readily available and with quick delivery due to being held in stock in most sizes of plate, round bar and flat bar.
- Cheapest grade of machinable aluminium
- Standard off the shelf cutters can be used - saving time and money
- The good machinability of aluminium 6082 means less cutter wear and faster speeds and feeds, resulting in reduced cycle times
Finishing & Treatments:
Aluminium 6061 responds well to anodising including sulphuric and hard anodising.
Chromate and non-chromate conversions (Alochrom 1000/1200 - Not RoHS compliant) (Iridite NCP/Surtec 650 new versions of Alochrom).
See our Finishing Processes page for further information on services that we can facilitate.
Can we meet your 6061 machining needs? Contact us now
Further Reading & Resources
For more information on Aluminium check out the external link below
Aluminium 6061 Machined Parts
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Penta Precision provides the following 6061 aluminium machining services:
- CNC milling
- CNC turning
- Prototypes and batch runs
- Insert installation
- Part marking
- Manual milling
- Manual turning
- Machining design advice
- Design for manufacture service
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