Understanding ACP 5080 Material Properties for Machining

ACP 5080 is a precision aluminum cast plate that is well known for its excellent machinability and cost-saving benefits. Not only does it feature exceptionally well-balanced material, physical, and mechanical properties, it’s also one of the best low-tension aluminum tooling plates.

Below, we take a look at some of the most unique ACP 5080 material properties and further analyze some of the physical and mechanical properties that lend to its machinability.

Unique ACP 5080 Material Properties

ACP 5080 has unique material properties that make it an ideal choice for machinists for specific applications. Some of these properties, including low porosity, a fine grain structure, and excellent dimensional stability, are detailed below.

Low Porosity

Porosity typically influences various key properties of a metal, such as corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, and fatigue toughness. Pores are nothing but gaseous voids, and low porosity means fewer voids or air pockets inside the metal structure. The presence of air pockets disturbs the metal’s uniform density, and the structure becomes less stable for further applications.

While machining, porosity can crack the metal wide open or may create a leak path for cutting fluids and external gases to enter. As a result, the work material may become unusable for further applications.

The low porosity of ACP 5080 enables manufacturers to machine the plate for a superior surface finish without having to worry about the issues mentioned above.

Fine Grain Structure

Most low-temperature plastic deformation of metals comes from the dislocation of grains at the boundaries. Controlling grain size is the best way to curb dislocations and increase the metal strength. ACP 5080 alloys have extremely small grains, as they are manufactured close to finish thickness by a horizontal continuous aluminum flow casting process. They are even fully annealed to remove any manufacturing stresses, similar to condition “0” temper wrought plate.

The major advantage of fine-grain structures over conventional structures is high yield strength and stress relaxation resistance. This fine microstructure also aids cutting tools and thus is considered as one of the important ACP 5080 material properties responsible for increasing its machinability.

Due to the grain refinement in ACP 5080, the strength between the grains at the boundary is more than the grains within. It gives the alloy a prolonged stress rupture life. Stress rupture refers to the sudden and complete failure of material under stress. Thus, the plate can handle more tensile bending during machining without developing cracks, thereby preventing reduction in the workpiece area that follows it in proportion.

ACP 5080 displays this high grain boundary strength even at high temperatures. This indicates the high yield strength of the alloy. With high yield strength, ACP 5080 becomes a good match for the aerospace industry, where structures have to be designed to withstand extreme structural loads in terms of tension, compression, and vibration under a high differential temperature environment.

Dimensional Stability

Dimensional stability refers to a metal’s ability to retain its structural integrity under a given application. ACP 5080 plates inherit excellent material dimensional stability due to their low porosity.

Alloys with low thermal expansion lose dimensional stability during the machining process, as excessive temperatures are generated from the friction between the cutting tool and workpiece. However, ACP 5080 has an excellent coefficient of thermal expansion of 13.5 µin/in-°F (24.3 µm/m-°C), close to that of pure metal; thus, you should not experience any unusual expansion behavior.

Apart from ACP 5080’s material properties, its mechanical and physical properties also influence machinability.

Ideal Mechanical and Physical Properties

The two tables below highlight the mechanical and physical properties of the ACP 5080 alloy.

As shown above, ACP 5080 has good physical and mechanical properties like other aerospace grades of aluminum. High tensile strength and yield strength values indicate its ability to withstand a hard machining environment, and its thermal conductivity lies in the fair range. The plate can absorb heat from the cutting tool during the machining process to save the tools from thermal breakdown. Also, as the alloy has good ductility, it requires less cutting force and saves the tool from frictional wear and tear.

Purchase Quality ACP 5080 Tooling Plate from a Trusted Local Supplier

For more than two decades, Industrial Metal Service has been supplying new metals and verified remnants to the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. We have built a reputation for reliability and professionalism, and we take pride in our vast inventory of materials, including ACP 5080 tooling plate produced by Alimex, MIC-6 aluminum, steel, aluminum, copper, and more. We offer mill test reports (MTRs) for metals we sell that are sourced from U.S. mills, and we certify the quality and composition of our remnants using Thermo-Fisher XRF analyzers.