Fortal

[drof34]

No statements, just questions.
I have a double groove pulley(sheave if you prefer) that has a chunk broke out of it, no bending just broke. Is it save to assume from that, that it is 7075 or fortal and can it be safely welded? This thing spins at up to 4K and is about 7-1/2" in dia. I am under the impression that it can't.

Jim W.

[Evan]

7000 series alloys are not considered weldable except by certain processes such as spot welding and even that is uncommon.

As far as identifying it as 7000 series just because it broke, that is not a safe assumption. It may have been cast and then machined.

[Thorsten]

To quote:

"They are a "secondary" supplier. And apparantly have taken a bit of license to help sell their product. Which is really just resawn plate purchased from either Alcoa or Kaiser.
But I don't think that's an excuse for specs that excede the normal for this alloy.

Sure the stuff maybe able to, at it's extremes, to exibit those numbers but they go way past any design parameters where it would be used in the strength they say it has.

But so can everyday available 7075-T651.

So you can spend your money on gimic engineering specs. Or you can just go buy what it is at a realistic price.

This stuff is expensive as is. I know why. I don't need to pay additional for advertising hype."

First off, Fortal is from France, where it is made specifically for the aerospace industry. It is superior to American made 7075 because it holds its properties throughout the entire thickness of the stock, something neither Kaiser nor Alcoa appear to be able, or willing, to do.

While similar to 7075 (as Fortal themselves state), Fortal is nonetheless unequivocally superior to 7075.

All that being said, it's a huge pity that Jim didn't/couldn't/wouldn't continue, and I'd love to know what actually happened, i.e. whether his supply dried up, or whether he couldn't make a go of it or what. Whatever the reason, this is a huge loss, as, at $2.70 a pound and the incredible service Jim provided in trying to provide stock that minimized waste for the buyer, nothing can match his offerings.

Cheers,
Thorsten

[hoopity]

This is very interesting to me. What are the base metals designation? I use a 6013 welding ror and I ofter work with different metals that have various designations...

oopity

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by topct:
7075 was always made in a dedicated remelt furnace. It's ingredients are vary closely watched as to the percentages.

All 7075 ingots were marked as 7075.

However, the metal was analized and it's specifications were most definatley kept track of. If Fortal specified a certain tolerance, that might have been possible, however I suspect unlikely. It really isn't neccasary.

However since we treated all 7075 as an aircraft grade aluminum, those tolerances would be moot for a piece of tooling plate.

And as far as the 10% strectch. I call that a giant piece of BS. It was bad enough to get it to go 3% for any 7075-T6.

</font>

[YankeeMetallic]

If you ever need to know the content / materials contained in just about any product, buy it in Kalifornia. They require a damn MSDS sheet on EVERYTHING it seems. And the risk of getting cancer is greater in Kalifornia than any other state, becasue according to attorneys out here, EVERYTHING causes cancer.

[Evan]

This is a part of the cautions from a real MSDS:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">
Section 4 First Aid Measures
Generally not hazardous in normal handling, however good laboratory practices should always be used. Avoid long term exposure to skin or by inhalation.

FIRST AID: SKIN: Wash exposed area with soap and water. If irritation persists, seek medical attention.

EYES: Wash eyes with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes, lifting lids occasionally. Seek Medical Aid. INHALATION: Remove to fresh air. If not breathing, give artificial respiration. If breathing is difficult, give oxygen

INGESTION: Give several glasses of milk or water. Vomiting may occur spontaneously, but it is not necessary to induce. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person.
</font>

Here

[wierdscience]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Thorsten:
To quote:

First off, Fortal is from France, where it is made specifically for the aerospace industry. It is superior to American made 7075 because it holds its properties throughout the entire thickness of the stock, something neither Kaiser nor Alcoa appear to be able, or willing, to do.

While similar to 7075 (as Fortal themselves state), Fortal is nonetheless unequivocally superior to 7075.

All that being said, it's a huge pity that Jim didn't/couldn't/wouldn't continue, and I'd love to know what actually happened, i.e. whether his supply dried up, or whether he couldn't make a go of it or what. Whatever the reason, this is a huge loss, as, at $2.70 a pound and the incredible service Jim provided in trying to provide stock that minimized waste for the buyer, nothing can match his offerings.

Cheers,
Thorsten

</font>

Fortal is produced by Pechiney Rhenalu,which is owned by Alcan.

Fortal's properties are very similar to 7075 in all aspects except for purity with the Fortal having slightly better controls.

The only real difference is Fortal retains it's properties throughout the crossection in thicknesses over 4".

For our uses 7075 t6 is everything we need.From having machined both,there is no difference between the two.

7xxx alloys can be welded,but not by traditional methods.The two methods that I know of are EB(electron beam welding) and friction or stir welding.

One particular use I love for 7075 is that it can be hot forged.

I have about 30' of 4-1/2" 7075-t2 round bar,along with the heat treat specs straight from Alcoa.I tried a few pieces in our oven at work and it is dead simple to treat.