Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dvd_hawk
aluminum is sturdy and lite but is easly warped or damaged
steel isn't light but is stronger
so it's kinda up to your prefrences and ideas  |
Actually it depends on the alloys being used. Some top grade aluminum alloys, such as 7075, are close in strength to low carbon steels such as 1018. However the steels will be stiffer, that is they will deflect less under a given load, than any aluminum. So you can use a stiff heavy material or a lighter not so stiff material for the same job. How much deflection you can tolerate is the descrimating factor. Many times determining the proper material for a job is pretty difficult. That's why we have Materials Engineers!