Aluminum bronze alloys are an excellent group of metals that are often used for welding and casting. Typically they are composed of 9-12% aluminum and at most 6% iron and nickel. When looking for aluminum bronze casting alloys there are four basic choices with many tweaked variations. Each of these has different properties that indicate different use cases.
- Nickel Aluminum Bronze
This is a high strength alloy that is typically used in sand casting. Like all of the following, this alloy and its variations have incredible corrosion and marine-specific corrosion resistance. - Low Nickel Aluminum Bronze
The lower strength, lower nickel alloy version is used more in die casting due to lower melting temperature, allowing for more time and energy-efficient die casting. Also, the general non-sparking aluminum bronze properties, coupled with the relative ease of producing die cast tools, makes this alloy particularly useful in the tooling industry. - Aluminum Silicon Bronze
The main benefit of this alloy is its low magnetic permeability. This can be quite useful in industries that require non-magnetic metals, like a hospital with an MRI room. - High Manganese Aluminium Bronze
Alloys of this type excel in shock resistance. All aluminum bronze grades are great for strength and deform instead of breaking. That said, high manganese aluminum bronze goes above and beyond in this respect. Boat propellers are the main product made of this type of alloy. In the event of a dented propeller, reforming it would not weaken its structure at all.
The advantages of aluminum bronze casting are impressive. High strength, low fragility, varying degrees of magnetic resistance, low corrosion, and non-sparking characteristics are highly useful in several industries. Aluminum bronze welding tools are important for non-sparking qualities. These non-sparking tools are used in many industries, such as oil refineries, chemical plants, and explosive handling. The best boat propellers take advantage of the corrosion and break resistance, allowing the world shipping industry to depend on this alloy for maritime transportation. Very important indeed! If you have any inquiries into the right aluminum bronze alloy for the job, give us a call and we’ll help you get started.