I wanted to post a brief technical bulletin about 2000 series aluminum, it's properties, it' advantages and it's drawbacks.
Many anodizers see 2000 series aluminum as a serious challenge. Its metallurgical structure includes a dreaded amount of copper in the matrix ( up to 6.8% by weight (2219 alloy) which makes it a challenge to anodize as well as reduces the maximum thicknesses that an anodizer can achieve.
The typical thicknesses that can be achieved on 2000 series aluminum should not exceed .001". Additionally "reworking" or the stripping of anodizing off and re-anodizing of 2000 series is not recommended as the grain of the aluminum is exposed more readily with this alloy because of the non-aluminum metalurgical parameters. The old adage of "What is easy to machine is difficult to finish" applies heavily to this alloy.
The structural rigidity of 2000 series Aluminum, mostly due to its ability to be precipitation hardened ( to near steel strengths) made it extremely appealing to the aerospace programs and other products where lightweight, Strong, and affordable were necessary constituents. The eventual drawbacks of the alloy was it's susceptibility to "stress corrosion cracking". Stress corrosion cracking is a sudden, unexpected failure of an alloy (metals) that is typically ductile (able to change physical form without breaking) while the alloy is subjected to constant tensile stress and exposed to a corrosive environment. It is for this reason that the alloy was replaced with the 7000 series aluminum.
Team Metal Finishing has a tremendous amount of experience anodizing 2000 series aluminum. In recent years, our project planning for this alloy has increased dramatically, and has improved our results exponentially.
Let Us Know What Our Team Can Do For Yours.
