Quote:
Originally Posted by JesseK
What's the most common grade of aluminum among FIRST teams -- 6063?
|
I'd wager that 5052-H34, 6061-T6, 6063-T52, and 6105-T5 are the most common alloys: 5052-H34 because it's in the kit; 6061-T6 because it's an excellent balance of price, availability, and strength; 6063-T52 because it's cheap and available (not too strong though...); and 6105-T5 because that is what 80/20 makes their extrusions out of. Personally, I like 6061-T6 for the reasons I've listed, but I wouldn't say no to some nice 7068 or 7075!
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamHeard
It's about 3 times heavier.... but, it is offered in thinner wall thickness than aluminum usually. But still, it's a good deal heavier.
|
I dunno, I think it depends heavily on your heat treatment. From some numbers I'm looking at on MatWeb, it seems that some (hardened) 4130 steels are about 2.9 times the weight of 6061-T6 aluminium, while being 3.5 times stronger. So, its strength to weight ratio seems a bit better. However, annealed 4130 and 4130 that hasn't been hardened that much are a different story; the less hardened versions are only about twice the strength.