Aluminum

Aluminum Forged Parts

All Metals & Forge Group manufactures high-quality aluminum forged parts for applications that demand low weight, corrosion resistance, and strong mechanical performance. Because aluminum offers an excellent strength-to-weight ratio, engineers specify it for aerospace, automotive, marine, construction, and food processing equipment.

Although aluminum once carried extreme cost, modern extraction and recycling methods have made it widely available. Today, producers recycle aluminum using only a fraction of the original energy required for primary production. As a result, aluminum remains both practical and sustainable.

Common alloys of aluminum include:

1100, 1100F, 2014, 3003, 5086, 6061, 6061-T6, 7075, and 7075-T73. Common specifications include ASTM B247, AMS 2772, AMS STD 2154, AMS 4127, SAE AMS 4141, and QQ-A-367.

Material Properties and Performance Advantages

Aluminum and its alloys combine light weight with good strength and corrosion resistance. In fact, aluminum weighs roughly one-third as much as steel. Additionally, it forms a natural oxide layer when exposed to air, salt, or water. This protective layer improves resistance to many corrosive environments.

Aluminum performs well at low temperatures down to approximately -400°F. It also withstands service temperatures up to about 400°F, depending on alloy and heat treatment. Therefore, aluminum forged parts serve applications in both cryogenic and moderately elevated temperature environments.

Alloy selection plays an important role in performance. For example, 7075 aluminum provides significantly higher strength than 1100 aluminum at elevated temperatures. However, most aluminum alloys offer excellent ductility and forgeability, which allows production of intricate shapes with tight tolerances.

Forging and Heat Treatment of Aluminum Alloys

Aluminum alloys respond well to open die forging. Because aluminum does not form heavy scale during heating, surface quality remains high. However, direct metal-to-die contact can cause galling under pressure. Therefore, we apply proper lubrication during forging to protect tooling and surface integrity.

Aluminum forged parts rarely remain in the as-forged condition. Instead, we develop final mechanical properties through solution heat treatment, quenching, and aging. Typically, we solution treat just below the solidus temperature, then water quench, and finally age the material between 250°F and 350°F for several hours.

This controlled process increases strength, improves hardness, and stabilizes mechanical properties for demanding service conditions.

Applications of Aluminum Forged Parts

Aluminum forged parts serve aerospace structures, automotive components, marine hardware, structural supports, and food processing equipment. Because aluminum resists corrosion and reduces overall system weight, it improves efficiency and durability in many applications.

Common forged shapes include shafts, discs, rings, hubs, cylinders, blocks, and custom geometries designed to customer specifications.

Quality Control and Machining Capabilities

All Metals & Forge Group operates under an ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D registered quality system. We begin each project by reviewing end use, required mechanical properties, geometry, and delivery requirements.

Every aluminum forged part undergoes ultrasonic testing to confirm internal integrity. In addition, we rough machine forgings to within 3 mm of finished dimensions. This approach reduces CNC machining time and lowers overall manufacturing cost. Our standard rough-machined finish is 250 RMS, which allows accurate inspection before final machining.

When required, we perform finish machining to tolerances as tight as ±0.001 inch with 64 or 32 RMS surface finishes. Many suppliers deliver aluminum forgings in the black or at 500 RMS; however, our machining standards significantly reduce downstream processing.

From inquiry through final delivery, we actively manage quality at every stage. Whether producing a prototype or a full production run, we deliver aluminum forged parts engineered for performance and reliability.