Aluminum and aluminum alloy plates and strips for general industrial use
General industrial aluminum and aluminum alloy sheets and strips are among the most widely used aluminum materials in the industrial sector. They are lightweight, corrosion-resistant, easy to process, and cost-effective, making them widely used in industries such as machinery manufacturing, packaging, construction, and transportation. This product range includes multiple series of pure aluminum (1 series) and aluminum alloys (2 series, 3 series, 5 series, and 6 series). 1060 pure aluminum sheet and strip has a purity of ≥99.6% and offers excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, making it suitable for heat dissipation components. 3003 aluminum alloy, with a manganese content of 1.0-1.5%, offers excellent corrosion resistance and weldability and is primarily used in packaging and containers. 5052 aluminum alloy, with a magnesium content of 2.2-2.8%, offers high strength (tensile strength ≥230 MPa) and is suitable for structural components. 6061 aluminum alloy, which can be heat-treated and strengthened, offers a balanced balance of strength and processing properties and is commonly used in mechanical parts. The thickness of the plate is usually 0.3-10mm, the thickness of the strip is 0.05-3mm, and the width can reach 2000mm. The surface condition can be selected as cold rolled (H18), annealed (O) or aged (T6) according to the needs.
The production process for general industrial aluminum and aluminum alloy plates and strips requires flexible adjustments based on material and performance requirements. First, electrolytic aluminum ingots (purity above 99.7%) and alloying elements are selected and smelted in a furnace at 720-760°C. Hydrogen (≤0.15ml/100gAl) and inclusions are removed through online degassing and filtration. Ingots are semi-continuously cast to a thickness of 300-600mm and then homogenized (300-500°C) to eliminate casting stresses. Hot rolling is suitable for thick plate production. The ingots are heated to 400-500°C and rolled in multiple passes to a thickness of 6-20mm. The final rolling temperature is controlled at 300-350°C. Cold rolling is used for thin plates and strips. The target thickness is achieved through multiple passes at speeds of 30-100m/min and a reduction of 15-30% per pass. Intermediate annealing is performed in air or an inert atmosphere at temperatures of 250-450°C to restore the material’s plasticity. After straightening (flatness ≤ 3mm/m) and slitting, the finished products pass the tensile test (elongation ≥ 10%) and corrosion resistance test (salt spray test ≥ 500 hours) to ensure quality.
In the machinery manufacturing sector, general industrial aluminum and aluminum alloy plates and strips are the preferred materials for lightweight components. Protective covers and housings for general machinery are made of 3003 aluminum alloy plates, 1-2mm thick, which reduce weight by 40% compared to steel plates and improve equipment handling efficiency by 25% at a machine tool plant. Rollers and guide rods in textile machinery are made of 5052 aluminum alloy strips. Anodizing improves wear resistance by 30%, extending the equipment maintenance cycle at one textile company to two years. Wall panels for printing machinery are made of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy plates, 5-8mm thick, with a tensile strength of ≥310 MPa and the ability to withstand printing pressures (≥15 MPa). This has improved equipment operational stability at one printing plant by 15%.
The packaging and construction industries are experiencing strong demand for aluminum and aluminum alloy sheet and strip. Food cans are made from 3104 aluminum alloy strip, 0.2-0.3mm thick. Through thinning and stretching, the cans achieve a strength of over 200 MPa, increasing packaging material utilization by 10% for a beverage company. Curtain wall panels for architectural decoration use 1100 pure aluminum sheet, 2-4mm thick. Fluorocarbon-coated, they offer 15-year weather resistance, reducing curtain wall maintenance costs for a commercial building by 50%. 6061 aluminum alloy sheet, 3-5mm thick, is reusable over 50 times, reducing formwork costs for a construction company by 30%.
With the advancement of green industrialization and lightweighting, the performance of general industrial aluminum and aluminum alloy sheets and strips continues to improve. Manufacturers have developed high-strength aluminum alloy sheet (7075-T6) with a tensile strength of ≥500 MPa for use in heavy machinery structural components, reducing the weight of components in a certain type of construction machinery by 30%. To address corrosion resistance requirements, aluminum-magnesium-manganese alloy strip (3004) has been developed with salt spray resistance of ≥1000 hours, suitable for equipment in coastal areas, extending the service life of certain port machinery to 10 years. Using continuous casting and rolling technology, the sheet thickness tolerance is controlled to ±0.01mm, improving the assembly accuracy of components at an electronics factory to 99.5%. In the future, with the development of the circular economy, the proportion of recycled aluminum will gradually increase (targeting over 30%), driving the development of aluminum and aluminum alloy sheet and strip towards more environmentally friendly and higher-performance products.
