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Important Properties that Make Aluminum the Most Preferred Metal when Manufacturing Car Parts
Manufacturers use aluminum and its alloys for different car parts due to the unique combination of properties that sets it apart from other metal materials. Aluminum’s ability to reduce the total weight of vehicles and improve performance, thereby ensuring fuel efficiency, is a major advantage. Here are some of the reasons why aluminum is preferred in automotive parts manufacturing:
High Stregth and Flexibility
Aluminum alloys are exceptionally strong and don’t break at a low-temperature application. Unlike steel parts that become brittle at low temperatures, aluminum maintains its toughness even in cold conditions. Hence, aluminum is ideal for producing different car parts, appliances, aircraft, and skyscrapers.
Automotive manufacturers use aluminum to create different car parts due to its maximum flexibility, allowing the components to resist impact.
Malleability
The ease of forming aluminum into the desired shape is another reason automotive manufacturers prefer it over other metals. It is easy to form and cut into preferred shapes and sizes by passing molten aluminum form through a die. As such, it makes aluminum suitable for creating automotive parts such as body panels and other architectural components or aircraft fuselages.
Conductivity
Aluminum is a standard metal with excellent thermal conductivity. Aluminum exhibits more electrical conductivity and less weight than copper. According to the American Society for Testing Materials, an aluminum conductor has the same electrical conductivity as a copper conductor with half its weight.
Resistance to Vibration
Product engineers utilize aluminum alloys in applications requiring components that reduce noise and vibrations, including suspension engines or engine bays, due to their remarkable vibration-dampening properties.
Relatively Low Density
Automotive manufacturers use aluminum to create lightweight, robust vehicle parts. Although aluminum offers excellent strength, its low-density properties make it well-suited for structural components requiring strength and low weight, such as body panels and frames.
Corrosion Resistance and Recyclability
Although lightweight, aluminum exhibits inherent resistance to corrosion. It develops a protective oxide layer when its surface is exposed to air. Hence, it shows excellent resistance to corrosion and rust.
Furthermore, aluminum is an environmentally friendly material due to its indefinite recyclability. It can retain its properties after recycling, thus helping businesses save production costs.
Cost Effectiveness
Aluminum and its alloys help manufacturers reduce the production costs of different car parts since the material is relatively available and a cheaper alternative to most metals. Similarly, the advances in its manufacturing and alloying methods make it an ideal choice for mass-producing car parts.
Typical Aluminum Car Parts Manufacturing Processes
Automobile parts manufacturers embrace various technologies to create precise and durable parts. Even though some of these techniques might be expensive, other alternatives match your manufacturing budget and needs. Let’s assume you need to manufacture aluminum auto parts in large quantities. You might need to invest in a CNC milling machine. Conversely, you could utilize a laser cutting machine to produce a few pieces.
Below are the common ways to manufacture metal auto parts:
3D Printing Aluminum Car Parts
3D printing is one of the versatile and widely used additive manufacturing technologies. It enables the three-dimensional (3D) creation of objects using layers of materials. Although this process is often used to print plastic models, it is suitable for printing different objects from metals like aluminum.
Metal 3D printing fuses tiny amounts of powdered metals with lasers. A laser beam heats the metal particles to melt them together. Then, the metal cools and hardens to form a solid shape. 3D printed parts are usually stronger than other parts since the process doesn’t just bond the metal particles. It fuses them firmly. Automotive manufacturers commonly use the 3D technique for prototypes and external body parts.
CNC Machining Aluminum Car Parts
CNC machining is an advanced manufacturing approach that uses computer numerical control to control machine tools that shape the bar stock into desired forms. Automotive manufacturers employ CNC machining processes to create complex shapes and intricate features with precision and at very high speeds.
CNC machines can cut different materials (hard or soft), including aluminum, steel, and titanium. CNC offers enormous benefits, unlike conventional machining methods, such as higher accuracy and repeatability. However, experts advise CNC machining aluminum car parts in higher volumes to reduce per-part cost since CNC machining processes can be expensive.
Die-Casting Aluminum Parts
This industrial manufacturing method involves pouring molten metal like aluminum into a mold cavity at high pressures. The machine operator opens the mold for part removal after the metal cools. Die casting is a widely embraced technique in automotive, medical, consumer goods, electronics, aerospace, and sporting equipment applications. Depending on the product type being manufactured, manufacturers use different die types.
Advantages of Aluminum Car Parts
Manufacturing vehicles with aluminum parts offers many benefits due to the vast combination of properties that aluminum offers. Below are some of the expected benefits of aluminum auto parts:
Longevity
Since aluminum alloys are usually corrosion-resistant, aluminum car parts exhibit an extended life span and require less rust repair than steel parts. These aluminum components can operate in harsh environments like off-roading or military applications. Hence, investing in aluminum car parts is ideal to ensure your vehicle’s durability and longer life.
Safety
Vehicle parts produced from aluminum materials exhibit better impact resistance during crashes. Automotive manufacturers increase the energy absorption capacity of vehicles with aluminum alloys, ensuring safety without increasing the overall weight. Cars made of aluminum parts often have shorter stopping distances, preventing collisions. Moreover, aluminum parts can withstand twice the impact energy a steel part with the same strength can handle because it expands during deformation.
Improved Performance
The automotive industry evolves continuously, and new vehicle models and parts are consistently improved to achieve better performance. Aluminum is one of the new materials auto manufacturers use to produce lightweight and stronger vehicles. Aluminum has low density and strength, allowing the creation of thinner panels and fewer structures, facilitating better acceleration, braking, and handling in cars.
Fuel Efficiency
Steel car parts weigh 24% more than aluminum steel parts of the same size. As such, automotive manufacturers seek to fully exploit this benefit by using aluminum in several areas of a vehicle, such as body panels, and developing other vehicle components that could enhance fuel efficiency.
Reduced Emissions
Since aluminum alloys allow for the creation of different vehicle components with lighter weight, manufactured vehicles will generate less emissions due to reduced fuel consumption. As a result, automotive manufacturers can easily adhere to stringent environmental regulations.
Flawless Functionality
Over the last few decades, aluminum manufacturers have invested massively in improving aluminum products’ quality. Recent technological improvements and materials testing have helped automotive manufacturers create different low-weight, stronger, and easier-to-assemble aluminum car parts. Consequently, this has improved the functionality and durability of aluminum car parts.
Common Alloys of Aluminum Used Vehicle Parts
Automotive manufacturers use different aluminum alloys to meet the requirements of different vehicles due to the material’s low weight, result resistance, and excellent surface finish properties. The aluminum alloys commonly used in car parts production include:
- 1100 aluminum alloy series
- 2024 aluminum alloy series
- 3003, 3004, and 3105 aluminum alloy series
- 4032 aluminum alloy
- 6016, 6022, 6061, and 6181 aluminum alloy
- Aluminum alloys 5005, 5251, 5052, 5182, 5083
- Aluminum alloy 7003 and 7046
Aluminum Car Parts Applications
Modern brands use different types of aluminum alloys since the materials offer a combination of desirable properties that help meet sustainability goals. Here are some of the uses of aluminum in automobiles:
Body Panels
Vehicle body panels are the shell or outer covering that attributes shape to the entirety of the vehicle. Besides, these car bodies protect the engine and other interior components from damage. Renowned automakers have conducted several experiments to produce highly durable and lightweight aluminum bodies for different cars. More importantly, the corrosion resistance and excellent strength to weight of aluminum material make it an ideal choice for this application.
Radiators
A vehicle’s radiator regulates the temperature flow within its engine, dissipating the heat the engine generates into the atmosphere to ensure peak performance. An aluminum radiator can ensure the quick transfer of hot air from the engine into the atmosphere. Unlike copper-brass or steel, aluminum radiators are environmentally friendly to produce and recyclable.
Wheels
Manufacturing high-performance vehicles without compromising safety and incurring unnecessary expenses is a major focus in automotive manufacturing. Instead of steel, automotive companies use aluminum wheels since the material is a rust and corrosion resistant metal. Hence, it reduces wheel damage repairs and replacement costs. Similarly, manufacturers add aluminum with different elements to form alloys with greater impact resistance, stress resistance, and better durability.
Chassis Enclosures
This is another integral vehicle component often produced with aluminum material. A vehicle’s chassis enclosure determines its overall performance since it is its foundation. The chassis framework lifts or supports interior and exterior components, including shift sticks, wheels, sound systems, brake pads, and dashboard panels. Moreover, extruded and die-cast aluminum parts are lightweight and provide greater axial load strength. As a result, vehicle drivers can travel safely on different terrains at constant speeds.
Trend of Aluminum in Car Manufacturing
As the demand for safe car parts and better vehicle performance continues to rise, aluminum and its alloys have gained traction in the automotive sector since they allow improved vehicle performance, efficiency, and sustainability. One of the critical trends of aluminum in vehicle parts manufacturing is its increasing use in electric vehicles (EVs). Electric cars have gained popularity as they are the new focus for different auto brands. Manufacturers use aluminum to create lightweight metal parts like battery housings, suspension systems, and body structures for EVs to extend their battery range without sacrificing performance and safety.
Another common trend of aluminum in car parts production is advanced manufacturing technologies. It allows automotive manufacturers to combine aluminum with other materials like magnesium, high-strength steel, and composites to give modern vehicles the lightweight properties of aluminum where necessary. Additionally, advancements in manufacturing, including high-precision castings and 3D printing technology, enable the creation of complex aluminum parts, increasing the use of aluminum in many luxury and high-performance cars.
Cars are likely to have more aluminum components than usual in the future since aluminum is ideal for making safety-critical components like frames, body structures, and crumple zones due to aluminum’s crash energy absorption capacity.
AT-Machining: Your One-Stop Machine Shop for Quality Aluminum Auto Parts
The use of aluminum in the design and production of car parts has become extensive since it is a reliable alternative to steel due to its aesthetic appeal, weight reduction, safety performance, and cost savings advantages. These metal parts are essential to the rise of electric and hybrid vehicles requiring lighter-weight functional parts. However, even though aluminum offers the vast benefits that contribute to the evolution of modern cars, ensure it fits your budget, and your supplier has an in-depth understanding of the standard aluminum parts manufacturing techniques to ensure the quality of manufactured car parts.
AT-Machining is a leading alumininum car parts manufacturer with international certifications, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001. Our professional engineers and machinists leverage our extensive manufacturing capabilities and experience to create lighter-weight parts from carefully selected materials that meet specific requirements. Contact us now; our expert engineers can provide professional assistance for your aluminum car parts production.
