Aluminum 6061-T6 vs 7075-T6 - Difference Between 6061-T6 and 7075-T6

6061 aluminum and 7075 aluminum are both common alloys in our CNC aluminum machining process. The -T6 is a suffix to these two metals, it indicates the treatment of the alloy to achieve a specific state. While aluminum 6061-t6 vs 7075-t6, what’s the difference between them? In this article, we’ll analyze and compare their properties in detail, you can also get the typical applications of al6061 t6 and al7075 t6.

What is Aluminum 6061-T6? - Aluminum 6061-T6 Properties and Applications

Aluminum 6061-T6 is a type of precipitation-hardened aluminum alloy that has been treated. Precipitation hardening applies high temperatures to reduce its plasticity and increase the yield strength. The T6 refers to one of the T tempers of aluminum alloy, which is achieved through solution heat-treated and then artificially aged. T tempers also including T1, T2, T3, and more. The forming of aluminum 6061-t6 needs aluminum oxide, carbon, and electricity. Al6061-T6 offers good structural strength, good thermal performance, and finishing characteristics, it can be anodized, but may lose some strength when being welded. While heat treatment and artificially aging can restore strength. The properties of 6061-T6 aluminum make it a popular choice for producing durable structural parts and products, applications where require heat transfer or corrosion-resistant characteristics including boats, large yachts, flat-bottom canoes, bicycle frames, heat exchangers, air coolers, heat-sinks, water, air, and hydraulic piping, etc. 6061-T6 aluminum is 100% recyclable with no downgrade in quality, it’s also the way to go for environmentally-friendly projects.

What is Aluminum 7075-T6? - Aluminum 7075-T6 Properties and Applications

Aluminum 7075-T6 is the al7075 with a T6 temper, which is achieved by solution treatment and artificial aging, make the 7075 aluminum at 450 ℃ for several hours, quenching, and then artificially aging it at 120 ℃ for 24 hours, which is around the time when it meets standard property. Grade 7075 is easy to be machined but not recommended to weld it. Al7075-T6 offers high stability in machining, high stress resistance, and excellent strength-to-weight ratio, it is suitable for highly stressed structural parts. 7075 aluminum alloy is the combination of properties for a bunch of universal jobs. The common uses of 7075-T6 aluminum including bicycle parts, tools, meter gears, missile components, keys, valve parts, aircraft fittings, aerospace parts, defence equipment, military products, rifles upper and lower receivers, and more. But it’s not as corrosion resistant as other aluminum alloys, and the ductility is the lowest in the 7000-series.

Difference Between 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 - Aluminum 6061-T6 vs 7075-T6

What’s the difference between al7075-t6 and al6061-t6, here you can get the most intuitive values from the following two charts, which show the chemical composition, physical properties, and mechanical properties of 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 aluminum.