Extrusion product made of aluminum/aluminum alloy matrix composite and a process of forming the extrusion product

Extrusion product made of aluminum/aluminum alloy matrix composite and a process of forming the extrusion product description/claims

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an extrusion product made of aluminum/aluminum alloy matrix composite and a process of forming the extrusion product, and more particularly to an extrusion product made of more than two different kinds of aluminum alloys.

2. Description of the Related Art

Aluminum alloys are widely used as raw materials for such as extrusions. To fabricate an extrusion material, an aluminum alloy is formed into a cylinder billet with a certain height. Then the aluminum billet is heated to be deformable. At last the aluminum billet is extruded to form the extrusion product such as bar, rod, tube, plate, profile.

However, a conventional aluminum extrusion product is made by only single series of aluminum alloy. Each aluminum alloy has its own nature property so the application of each conventional aluminum extrusion product is limited by the nature of the aluminum alloy property. For example, some aluminum alloys have a low tensile strength but have good anti-corrosion while some aluminum alloys have worse anti-corrosion feature with a high tensile strength. Therefore, some conventional aluminum extrusion products are corrosion-resisting but insufficient for strength support while some conventional aluminum extrusion products are well strength supported but are easy to be corroded.

To make up the aforesaid disadvantage, the conventional aluminum extrusion products are made of aluminum alloy with high tensile strength. Then a shell surface film layer made of anti-corrosion material is electroplated anodized on or is coated on the conventional aluminum extrusion product. However, the layer will not stay attached to the aluminum alloy for an extended period because the layer and the conventional aluminum extrusion products are made of two different materials. Therefore, the surface layer will not stay attached to the conventional aluminum extrusion product for an extended period. Thus, the problem that the conventional aluminum extrusion products do not have both good anti-corrosion and high tensile strength is not solved.

Therefore, the invention provides an extrusion material made of matrix composite aluminum alloys to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

The main objective of the present invention is to provide an extrusion product made of matrix composite aluminum alloys that have multiple characters.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of manufacturing acts of an extrusion product made of matrix composite aluminum alloys in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is operational perspective views of a core and a covering for an aluminum billet in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an extrusion product made of matrix composite aluminum alloys in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional end view of another embodiment of an extrusion product made of matrix composite aluminum alloys in accordance with the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, an extrusion product, such as a solid extrusion bar, made of matrix composite aluminum alloys in accordance with the present invention has producing procedure as follows:

At least two different aluminum alloys are selected from any of the aluminum alloys such as 5 series or 7 series of the AA standard that are formulated by The American Aluminum Association Inc. The aluminum alloy such as 5051, 5052, 5056, 5083, 5086, 5456 from the 5 series comprises Al, Mg, etc. that has excellent anti-corrosion in marine or industrial environments and good welding features. Additionally, the aluminum alloy such as 7001, 7005, 7046, 7050, 7055, 7075 from the 7 series comprises Al, Zn, Mg, Cu, etc, offers the superior tensile strength. For example, the 7075 aluminum alloy has a 150 kg/mm2 fatigue strength, a 34.0 kg/mm2 shearing strength and a 58.5 kg/mm2 ultimate tensile strength;

One of the at least two aluminum alloys is selected to be a core;

One of the at least two aluminum alloys is selected to be a hollow covering. With further reference to FIG. 2, the covering (11) is mounted around the core (10) to be a cylindrical billet (1);

The cylinder billet (1) is heated to be deformable.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the deformable billet (1) is extruded to become an extrusion bar (2). The extrusion bar (2) is solid and has a core (20) and at least one covering (21) mounted around the core (20). The material of the covering (21) is different from the material of the core (20).

With further reference to FIG. 4, the extrusion bar (2′) has more than two coverings (21′, 22′, 23′), the adjacent coverings (21′, 22′, 23′) are made of different aluminum alloys.

When the extrusion bar (2) has only one covering (21), the core (20) and the covering (21) may be made of different aluminum alloys selected from different series. For instance, when the material of the covering (21) is selected from 7 series, the material of the core (20) is selected from 5 series. Hence, the mechanical property of the extrusion bar (2) has a feature of good anti-corrosion inner and a high tensile strength outer. When the material of the covering (21) is selected from 5 series, the material of the core (20) is selected from 7 series. Hence, the mechanical property of the extrusion bar (2) has a feature of high tensile strength inner and a good anti-corrosion outer.

Additionally, when the extrusion bar (2′) has more than two coverings (21′, 22′, 23′), the material of the core (20′) and the material of the adjacent covering (21′) may be selected from different series. The materials of the adjacent coverings (21′, 22′, 23′) may also be different aluminum alloys selected from the same series or the different series. Furthermore, the materials and the thickness of the coverings (21′, 22′, 23′) and the core (20′) is dependent on the required character of the extrusion bar (2′).

The extrusion product made of matrix composite aluminum alloys as described enables more than two different aluminum alloys to form a billet and then the billet is extruded to become the extrusion product. The billet comprises a core and at least one covering mounted around the core. Because the core and the at least one covering have a small height and a large diameter, the core is easy to be inserted into the at least one covering. Furthermore, the materials of the core and the at least one covering are aluminum alloys. The core and the at least one covering is securely bonded together after heating and extruding because the fusion affect between the aluminum alloys

Additionally, the aluminum alloys selected from 5 series and 7 series both comprise Al and Mg, so the compositions of the aluminum alloys are similar. Using the two series aluminum alloys makes a billet with matrix composite aluminum alloys. The billet is heated to be deformable. Then the deformable billet is extruded to become an extrusion product. Because the compositions of a core and a covering of the extrusion product are similar, the fusion effect between the aluminum alloys is much more effective. Moreover, the extrusion product has both excellent anti-corrosion and superior tensile strength.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.