The Digital Thread

Aluminium is a common and popular metal that’s found everywhere and used in a stunningly wide range of parts and products: automotive parts, aerospace components, boat and marine gear, consumer electronics including smart phones, industrial machinery parts, HVAC systems, the list goes on. In this blog we look at why aluminium is so commonly used, why there are so many aluminium alloys, and take a brief glimpse at the main alloys we use at Protolabs.

Despite their widely varying applications, many electronic devices have at least one thing in common—the circuit boards and other components that make them work are all in an enclosure.

As the world’s leading digital manufacturer, we have added Aluminium 5083-H111 (3.3547 or AlMg4.5Mn0.7) to our range of over 40 stocked metal and plastic materials for our fast turnaround CNC service. The material is widely used in extreme environments with its high magnesium content making it highly resistant to saltwater and industrial chemicals.

Light weight and strength help aluminium and titanium excel for 3D-printed and machined parts.

Our new CNC Flexible Lead Time option puts you in control of when you want your CNC parts shipped and how much you pay.

Understanding CNC manufacturing costs

In this particular article we’ll take a look at the new platform for when uploading parts for CNC machining – Protolabs’ world-leading service for rapid prototypes and end-use production parts.

We’ve launched a big block rapid CNC machining service for aluminium 6082 parts. With a reliable shipping time as fast as 1 day from the initial CAD upload, we can now mill from blocks of up to 559mm x 356mm x 95mm.

Consider Delrin as an excellent plastic replacement for metal because of its strength, versatility.

If you need to protect your aluminium part from a harsh working environment or even just add a decorative finish, then anodising could well be the answer.

Secondary services may be required to meet the process control, functional or cosmetic (typically branding or labelling) needs for a specific project. The necessity of these additional services are determined by that specific need.

We take a look at the different CNC design considerations when designing parts for milling and turning processes which can accelerate production and reduce your costs.