AGING- A reaction of the alloying elements taking place in the heat treat-treata ble alloys after solution heat-treatment

that brings about an increase in hardne ss and strength with a decrease in ductility. The reaction may occur at room tem perature and is then defined as natural aging, but the speed of the reaction can be accelerated if it takes place at an elevated temperature in the 250 to 450 d egree Fahrenheit range where it is identified as artificial aging. _____________________________ ALCLAD/CLAD- Both terms relate to a composite material having a relatively thin sheet of higher purity or anodic alloy metallurgically bonded to a core alloy. B onding takes place during the first pass through the hot line breakdown rolling mill. These thin sheets may be put on one or two sides depending upon customer r equirements. If the skin is applied to the core to increase the corrosion resist ance of that core, the composite is said to be Alclad material. If, however, the purpose of the outer skin or skins is to offer that core a characteristic other than corrosion resistance such as a superior surface or a surface that is suita ble for brazing, the end product is said to be Clad material. ALODIZING- A proprietary term that applies to the application of an Amchem produ cts solution known as Alodine- merely one of several types of conversion coating s. Alodizing is included here because it is often confused with a very different process-ANODIZING. _____________________________ ANNEALING- A thermal treatment used to soften the metal by removal of stresses f rom cold working or by coalescing precipitates from solid solution. When the met al is fully softened it's called a full anneal. When only some of the stresses a re removed it's called a partial anneal. In latter case, the metal is stronger b ut less ductile than in the case of a full anneal. ANODIZING- Like most metals, aluminum, when exposed to the atmosphere, will atte mpt to revert to its natural state by reacting with the oxygen in the air, thus creating an oxide film on its surface. In the case of steel, the film or more ac curately the coating that forms will be ferric oxide, or rust. This coating may flake off, actually reducing metal thickness which may be detrimental to the ser vice life of the steel. On the other hand, aluminum's oxide adheres tightly to t he surface and serves to protect the metal in the air and in most neutral or mil dly acidic or alkaline solutions. Nature's film is a bit on the skimpy side at f ive millionths of an inch (.000005") thick so it is somewhat limited in its abil ity to resist corrosive attack under certain conditions. However, the oxide film can be made thicker, increasing its corrosion resistance and wearability. This is done by putting the aluminum into a sulfuric acid bath and then passing an el ectrical current through the solution which serves as an electrolyte. The result is an anodized product. The process does what nature would do, but it is done m uch faster; and, with controlled operating parameters, a film is created which i s much thicker than nature would provide. _____________________________ BAR- A solid section of metal that is long in relation to it's cross section, wh ich is square, rectangular (excluding plate), or is a regular hexagon or octagon , and in which at least on perpendicular distance between parallel faces is 0.37 5 inches or greater. BEND RADIUS (Recommended minimum)- A rule of thumb type of measurement of a mate rial's ability to adapt to bending to a 90 degree inside angle using a "vee" pre ss brake die. Taking into consideration a particular metal's mechanical properti es and it's thickness, the bend radius charts will serve to tell how sharp a ben

d can be made in metal without it fracturing on the outside of the bend. These c harts set down recommended minimum inside bend radii. it is suggested that one f abricate to an inside radius slightly larger than the one specified. It is impor tant that the fabricator realize that the bend radius charts are valid only if t he forming is classified as an air bend and the metal does not bottom in the die / BILLET- The raw material form for an extrusion press. a cylindrical length of c ast aluminum which, after preheating to a specified temperature, will be loaded into the press container and forced through a steel die opening to exit the pre ss having assumed the shape of that die opening. _____________________________ BLOOM- A semi finished hot rolled product, rectangular or square in cross sectio n, produced on blooming mill. It is often the stock used for making rod, bar and wire. BRAZING SHEET- A sheet of brazing alloy (4xxx) or a sheet clad with brazing allo y (4xxx) designed for brazing purposes. BRIGHT DIP- Like caustic etch, this is a pretreatment for aluminum to be anodize d. The bright dip process, using a phosphoric acid bath, will brighten and incre ase the reflectivity of the aluminum surfaces in contacts. Because of waste disp osal restrictions, this process is not as popular as it once was, but it is stil l used for the finishing of appliance trim, jewelry, etc. BRINELL HARDNESS- One of several systems that serve to measure a metal's resista nce to mechanical indentation. There are other hardness testing devices, but the Brinell equipment provides the readings most commonly found in aluminum publica tions. with the Brinell machine, a piece of aluminum is placed on an anvil and s ubjected to 500 kilograms of pressure by a 10-millimeter ball in contact with it s upper surface. This pressure is maintained for 30 seconds, released, and then the operator, using a direct read from the equipment's dial indicator, determine s to what degree the metal resisted penetration by the ball. The number attained is known as the BHN (Brinell Hardness Number). _____________________________ CAUSTIC ETCH- Like the bright dip, caustic etch is pretreatment for anodizing. T he anodic film is transparent and exposes the as-received surface of the aluminu m which may not be pleasing to the eye. By subjecting the bare, clean aluminum t o a caustic bath, the surface of the metal will be minutely eaten away and level ed. The resulting soft frosted, or matte, appearance is consistently attractive under the anodic film. CLADDING- (See Alclad/clad) COLD FINISHED- Rod or bar brought to a final diameter or thickness by means of a cross section reduction applied to the metal when it is at room temperature. Ex amples are cold rolling, cold drawing or cold extruding. COLD WORKING- Material reduction or deformation carried on at temperatures below those resulting in the recrystallization or annealing of the metal. Cold workin g of the metal will bring about strain-hardening with an increase in strength an d hardness. Cold worked metal may have its strength level reduced by partial ann ealing, or may have it brought down to its lowest level by full annealing. COMMON ALLOYS- One of several terms used in the industry to identify the non-hea t-treatable classes of alloys-alloys identified in the four-digit numbering syst

em by having as their first digit a "1", a "3", a "5", or in some cases an "8". This category of alloys has its strength levels increased by being subjected to some type of cold-working processes such as rolling, drawing, or stretching, but not through any of the thermal processes. exposure to temperatures above rather low levels can only reduce the strength of the non-heat-treatable or common all oys. _____________________________ CONVERSION COATINGS- (See Alondizing) Proprietary solutions, usually of a chroma te or phosphate variety, which when applied to a clean aluminum surface will ser ve to increase the metal's resistance to corrosion and provide a good base for p aint adhesion. In addition, some manufacturers use conversion coatings to enhanc e the aesthetics of their products. CORROSION- The deterioration of a material due to its reaction to its environmen t. Depending upon the type of corrosive conditions, the deterioration may be sta ining, pitting, flaking or, in very severe cases, fracturing-particularly if the metal is under stress. ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY- One of the physical properties of aluminum. It denotes the ability of a particular temper of a particular alloy to carry electrical cur rent. All published ratings, shown as a percentage, are based on the conductivit y of copper which carries a 100 percent rating, thus is the standard. As an exam ple, based on data available, 6061-T6 will have a conductivity rating of 43 perc ent when it is compared to a copper product having the same overall dimensions. If however, we are to take density into consideration and compare that 6061-T6 p roduct to a copper product equal to it in weight, the conductivity of the alumin um item would jump to 142 percent. _____________________________ ELONGATION- One of the mechanical properties of aluminum, i.e., the ability of t he metal to stretch, or elongate, when it is subject to an applied stress. The d istance the metal will stretch from the point where yielding begins to the point where the metal fractures is expressed as a percentage figure and is known as t he elongation. This is one of the factors that is often considered when planning to bend, form, draw, or stretch metal. EMBOSSED/PATTERENED SHEET- This product is produced by passing coiled sheet thro ugh a pair of steel rolls that have a repeating pattern machined, or etched, on their surface. Based on roll configuration, pressure on the rolls transmits the embossments or indentations to the surface of the sheet. The pattern may be one or two sided. EXTRUDED SHAPES- Continuous lineal shapes into and through an orifice, or opening, hus causing the metal to assume the shape ght be likened to squirting icing through corating gun. _____________________________ FINISHING- A broad classification denoting production operations performed on a material to alter its appearance, to improve its corrosion resistance, to enhanc e its aesthetics, or to prepare it for some special application. Mechanical fin ishing includes buffing, polishing, grinding, sanding, or even subjecting a surf ace to sand or shot blasting. Chemical finishing includes preparation for painti ng or anodizing with conversion coating. Caustic etching and bright dipping are examples. Electrolytic finishing covers any of the various anodizing processes. produced by forcing a preheated billet in a steel die under great pressure, t of that opening. Oversimplified, it mi various shaped openings with a cake de

Applied finishing involves painting, laminating, plating or porcelainizing. FOIL- Foil is simply a thin-gauge sheet product .0059" or less thick with a limi ted availability of alloys and tempers. The foil alloys are primarily made up of the week, high-purity types perfectly suited for wrap, containers, labels, etc. To produce foil products, the aluminum is processed as it would be for sheet pr oducts and then rolled and reduced in thickness or special foil mills. FORGING- The more common type forging is the die forging which is produced when prefigured volume of hot metal is allowed to flow into a solidly fixed steel cav ity. The cavity is capable of being raised and lowered to close on the bottom se ction. The top and bottom halves of the cavity are filled with hot metal; then t he upper section, or die, is brought down to a closure using tremendous force. A forged sphere, for example, would result when a proper mass of hot metal is for ced between hemispherical voids in the top and bottom dies. _____________________________ FORGING STOCK- A mill-produced rod, bar or special shaped piece of metal that is suitable after heating for forging. Forging stock is usually supplied in the "F " temper because it will be annealed as it is heated for forging. GAUGE/THICKNESS- Both terms are in common use, but the latter is preferred when describing the thickness of a wrought product. HARD ALLOYS- A term used to denote the higher strength alloys. (see heat-treatab le alloys) HEAT-TREATABLE ALLOYS- Alloys in the 2XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX series that achieve the ir maximum strength either through heat treating alone or through a combination of heat treating and cold work. HEAT TREATING- Normally used to describe a process where metal is heated at a hi gh enough temperature to put soluble elements into solid solution. This is by co oling the metal rapidly enough to retain the elements in solid solution. Often a separate heating operation (artificial aging) will be used subsequently to furt her strengthen the material. _____________________________ HOT WORKING- Working the metal at such a high temperature that strain hardening does not occur. IMPACTS- This class of products is also called impact extrusions. There are two basic production methods and both use a flat slug of metal as their starting mat erial. By one method, the slug is forced to fill a void in the die as in a forgi ng operation but, usually, on a smaller scale. By the second method, pressure fo rces the slug to flow upwards around a punch to assume a cylinder shape such as a toothpaste tube, an aerosol can ,or a fire extinguisher. Both operations are u sually performed at room temperature. INGOT- A cast form of the metal that is suitable for remelting or fabricating. T he ingot may take the form of rolling ingot, extrusion ingot, forging ingot or r emelt ingot. The size and shape of the cast product will be designed to facilita te the subsequent operations. For example, a remelt ingot may weigh as little as 50 pounds while a rolling ingot could go as high as 40,000 lbs. LOGS- ( See Ingot)- Another name for extrusion ingots, An extrusion plant withou t its own casting facilities may purchase logs and saw them to billet lengths to minimize inventory.

_____________________________ MACHINABILITY- The ease and speed with which a material may be efficiently cut b y various tools while offering free chip removal, a reasonable smooth surface, a nd extended tool life. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES- Those properties associated with material's reaction when force is applied, or that involve the relationship between stress and strain. T his would include tensile properties, modulus of elasticity and endurance limit. MASTER/PARENT COIL- A large coil to be slit into two or more smaller coils to me et customer width requirements. MASTER/PARENT PLATE- A large plate product to be sheared or sawn into two or mor e smaller plates to meet customer width and length requirements. NON-HEAT-TREATABLE ALLOYS- The correct and possibly the most definitive term for the 1XXX, the 3XXX, the 5XXX and some 8XXX alloy classes. These alloys gain str ength through cold working and lose strength through thermal treatments. They ar e also called soft or common alloys. _____________________________ PARTIAL ANNEALING- (See Annealing) PIPE- A tube whose outside diameter and wall thickness must conform to the indus try standards governing the use of pipe products. In other words, there are stan dard pipe sizes, and potential users must select from those sizes and from no ot hers. Seamless pipe, produced most often from hollow billet, has no seams or wel d lines in its walls. The more popular structural pipe, the type produced by Kai ser aluminum, comes from a solid billet and has weld lines running longitudinall y in the periphery because the metal flows around a plug, or mandrel, sin the ex trusion die and rejoins itself as it exits the die. The latter product is not to be used in applications involving internal pressure, and one might encounter fa brication problems if it is subject to severe forming operations. PLATE- A flat rolled product who's cross section is rectangular and whose thickn ess is one-quarter of an inch (.250") or more. QUENCHING- A closely controlled rapid cooling of metal from some type of high te mperature operation such as heat treating, casting, forging, or extruding. The c ooling medium is usually water or air, or a combination of the two, and the purp ose is to chill the metal quickly and lock the alloying elements into the disper sed positions imparted to them by the high temperature operation. _____________________________ ROCKWELL HARDNESS- Another of the methods used to determine a metal's resistance to indentation. Rockwell equipment is more widely used than the Brinell equipme nt and many more testers of aluminum will refer to the Rockwell system. There ar e charts available to convert from one system to the other. ROD- A solid round section 0.375" or greater in diameter. SCALPING- The skin of an ingot is made up oxides and impurities that come from e xposure to the environment, equipment, shops oils, dirt, etc. These impurities c ould be detrimental to the finished product's quality and integrity so, prior to the first working operation, the ingot is processed through a machining station where this outside skin is shaved off to a point where these impurities are rem

oved from the working surfaces. SCREW MACHINES- High speed types of machining equipment used in the manufacture of high production items such as bolts, pins, screws, fasteners and fittings are called screw machines. For this equipment, a limited number of alloys and tempe rs are produced to meet the stringent industry standards in regard to machining speed, surface quality, chip removal and tool life. _____________________________ SHEARING- A machine action capable of reducing the width and/or the length of fl at rolled products. The movement is similar to that of a paper cutter with a fix ed bottom blade and a movable top blade. Material to be sheared is placed betwee n the two blades against a fixed stop, the machine is activated, and the top bla de moves downward shearing the material in two. The top blade then returns to it s topmost position awaiting the next activation. Material is repositioned and re cut as often as necessary to achieve the required dimension. SHEET- Like plate, sheet is a flat rolled product which is rectangular in cross section, but it differed from plate in that it is thinner. Sheet thicknesses lie between those assigned to foil and those assigned to plate-over 0.0059 inches b ut less than 0.250 inches. SLITTING- A high speed method of cutting sheet in coiled for to narrower width c oils. Although there are flat sheet slitters in existence, most machines will on ly accommodate coiled products. Two circular knives, one above the other with cl earance between their edges determined by alloy strength and thickness, are requ ired for each cut to be made. The knives are located on the parallel spindles, a nd with the proper clearance set, produce a clean accurate cut as the sheet pass es through them. Material is payed off a coil at the head of the line, travels t hrough the slitter knives, and is rewound into new coils at the end of the line. Normally, slitting is the last mechanical operation performed on the metal befo re it leaves the mill. _____________________________ SOFT ALLOYS- Another of the terms given to the lower strength, common alloys. So ft is misleading because the 5xxx series is in the group and some of these alloy s have fairly high mechanical properties. The 1XXX, 3XXX, 5XXX and most of the 6 XXX alloy classes are all called soft alloys. STABILIZING- A phenomenon peculiar to the 5XXX series, or magnesium-bearing allo ys, which tend to age soften during storage. The resultant lowering of mechanica l properties may cause the metal to be below spec when the customer uses it. To prevent this, most of these products are subject to low temperature thermal trea tment before they are shipped from the mill. the result of this treatment is a s light drop in the metal's yield tensile strength to a stable level that is no lo nger subject to age softening. STRAIN HARDENING- (See Cold Working)- The effect of work hardening that modifies the metal's structure so that strength and hardness increase while elongation d ecreases. _____________________________ STRESS RELIEVING- Regardless of product form, mill processing subjects aluminum to varying degree of deformation cause by hot and cold temperature espouser, inc onsistent and unbalanced stresses, etc. The result of all this is hidden intern al stresses within the products which can distort the metal or its surface is re moved. Should the ultimate user plan to remove large amounts of metal, do extens

ive machining or perform a myriad of other critical processes, the metal might g o completely beyond the acceptable degree of flatness or shape. To circumvent th is, the mills are equipped to stress-relieve metal that is targeted for those ty pes of operations by stretching, compressing, or thermal processes-depending on product form, alloy and temper. TUBE- A hollow wrought product that is long in relation to its cross section, is round, hexagonal, octagonal, elliptical, square, or rectangular with sharp or r ounded corners, and has uniform wall thickness except as affected by corner radi i. Like pipe, tube may or may not have seams or welds depending on the method of manufacture. TREAD SHEET AND PLATE- This product has a raised one side diamond embossed patte rn impaired by mill rolls to provide improved traction. It is of misidentified a s "Tread Sheet", belying the fact that it is commonly produced in plate thicknes ses also. For years, 6061 was the standard alloy for this product, but several o f the non-heat-treatable alloys are now also available in this pattern. The latt er, under the heading of "Tread Bright", find applications where aesthetics is more important to the user than strength. ULTIMATE TENSILE STRENGTH(UTS)- Another common term to describe mechanical stren gth. This metal property is expressed in thousands of pounds per square inch and denote show much stress can be gradually applied to the metal before it fractur es. Tensile testing is done by pulling two ends of a test sample in opposite dir ections under a constantly increasing force, subjecting the product to stress. T he stress is measured until the product is pulled in two. The measurement at the exact time of fracture is the materials ultimate tensile strength. _____________________________ WATER STAIN- If oxygen is excluded from the wraps of coiled product, from the in ner surfaces of stacked flat products, or from the faying surfaces of extruded p roducts, and should moisture be permitted to enter those areas through condensat ion or water exposure, the moisture will have the tendency to steal the oxygen f rom the skin of the aluminum. When this happens, the surface of the metal will b ecome roughened and eventually pitted unless the water is removed and those surf aces are kept exposed to the air or kept free from further moisture. Although wa ter stains is usually only an aesthetic complaint, it can become severe enough t o become a structural problem by reducing metal thickness. Aluminum users should learn and practice the basic rules for the handling and storing of aluminum.(Se e "handling and Storing Aluminum" in this section. Several publication are avail able on this subject.) WEBSTER HARDNESS- Another method used to determine resistance to indentation and thereby estimate mechanical strength. The Webster tester is a hand-held, direct -read unit. Its degree of accuracy is somewhat below that of the Rockwell and Br inell equipment because it is portable and the data can be greatly affected by t he skill and consistency of the operator. It can be used to determine if the hea t-treatable alloys have received their scheduled thermal treatments, and many cu stomers use the Webster as a guide to metal's formability based on internal stan dards they have established. In this latter instance, a customer may have decide d that an extruded product must fall between the 10 an 13 range on a Webster to meet bending or forming requirements, and, with that standard agreed to by the p roducing mill, will let that criterion serve for acceptance or rejection of ship ments. _____________________________ WIRE- Here is the "W" in the often seen RBW heading. A definition of wire is jus t about the same as the definition for bar, in that wire can be almost any cross

section, but, unlike bar, wire can be round. The major difference lies in the f act that the minor dimension for bar must be at least three-eighths of an inch ( .375") while the major dimension for wire must be under three-eighths of an inch . WIRE, COLD-HEADING- This is a wire product with a make up and quality suitable f or use in the manufacture of cold-headed items such as rivets and bolts. WROUGHT PRODUCTS- Products which began as a raw material castings and are mechan ically worked by processes such as rolling, extruding, forging, etc. _____________________________ YEILD TENSILE STRENGTH (YTS)- a property of the material that describes the stre ss at which the material exhibits a specified permanent set. That is the point a t which it will not spring back to its original length when stress on the materi al is relieved. For aluminum the yield strength is usually measured at the point where the stress applied to the material causes a0.2% (of the gauge length) per manent set.