7075 Aluminum Tubing

When it comes to use of aluminum in aircraft construction, the kind of aluminum alloy used is very important. It has to be of high quality, and retain the same kind of strength and durability that aluminum is known for. 7075 Aluminum tubing is used, as it has proven versatile enough to be used in the aeronautical industry. It is used in construction, with one of its admirable characteristics being its performance in low temperatures.

7075 Aluminum tubing is made by alloying aluminum with zinc and copper. There are other more desirable elements that can give more superior qualities, but zinc and copper have so far proved sufficient. Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the alloy, with a percentage rating of between 87-91%. The strength of the alloy is comparable, and in some cases better than mild steel. Unlike steel however, it has a greater strength to weight ratio, and that explains why it is used in aerospace applications.

Some of the characteristics of 7075 Aluminum tubing apart from the aforementioned ones include high corrosion resistance, and easy machinability. It is also easily anodized, which is essential as far as making the metal more resilient is concerned. An important fact to appreciate is that the corrosion resistance of the 7075 Aluminum tubing is not the greatest in its class as clad 7075 retains more superiority in this.

7075 Aluminum tubing is normally made in a cold extrusion process. The advantages of extrusion are well understood, and this is why that is the metalworking procedure chosen for creating the tubing. If there is difficulty in obtaining the desired surface smoothness, warm extrusion is used, as it yields significantly better results in comparison. Hot extrusion can be used, and its advantage is that the process is much faster. The tubing undergoes heat treatment to improve its thermal characteristics as well.

When purchasing 7075 Aluminum tubing, you have to be precise about the shape that you want. While round is the conventional shape in aluminum tubing, other shapes such as hexagonal, rectangular and square shapes are also easy to achieve. Extrusion makes it possible to forge the tubing into any desired shape, without compromising any of its qualities.

The only disadvantage of 7075 Aluminum tubing is that it does not weld as easily. This might be a problem in construction, especially when a seamless design is being aimed for. If welding is a must, there are other grades of aluminum tubing that can readily be used.

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