Precision machining can utilize a wide variety of materials in order to produce an even wider variety of parts and components. Each type of material has its own properties and beneficial attributes. One type of material may be soft, but brittle while another may machine smoothly, but have a hardness which requires special tooling. Aluminum is a favorite material for machining because it has properties which make it easy to machine quickly as well as accurately.
Aluminum machining can produce highly complex components because the metal itself can take very intricate cuts without breaking down. This is one reason why precision parts, like computer hard drive housings, are composed of aluminum. Aluminum machining also produces lightweight components which may be needed in certain applications of delicate instruments.
Aluminum is soft enough that it causes less wear on tooling than high carbon steel and other hard materials, which reduces equipment costs for the machine shop. It allows for deeper cuts than hard or brittle materials, and deeper cuts mean fewer operations, which drastically cuts down on working time. Aluminum machining can produce many more highly complex parts in a smaller amount of time than machining with other materials. Additionally, aluminum machining produces nonmagnetic components for applications where magnetic ferrous metals would be problematic.
A reason why aluminum machining might be employed over plastic is the material’s accuracy. Plastic has a tendency to expand and contract when being machined, and this would not work if for example; a reamed hole must be at 251-thousandths inch with a tolerance of plus one-thousandth and minus zero for a precision fit to a rod which is exactly a quarter-inch in diameter. Depending on the condition of the reaming tool, the plastic may contract a few thousandths inch after the machining process, which would result in an improper fit. With use of quality tooling, aluminum has no expansion or contraction, thus the hole will be exactly the dimension of the reaming tool and this will allow for a precision fit for the rod.
Aluminum machining produces components which are only moderately durable, but are very precise. It can produce a very delicate instrument which tests various gasses on plant tissues, a large vacuum chamber that needs smooth and precise mating surfaces which will not allow air to seep in, or a complex fuel delivery component for the aerospace industry. Aluminum is perhaps the most widely used material when accuracy and moderate strength at reasonable cost is a requirement.
Ramp Engineering Inc.uses various types of aluminum to meet the precision needs of many industries, such as aerospace and medicine. These different aluminum alloys have properties which work for different applications, some needing lightweight delicate aluminum components and others that require added strength in the material. This variety of aluminum allows Ramp Engineering Inc. to meet current industrial needs as well as to innovate and meet the needs of future industrial applications.
