What kind of aluminum should you use in your casting projects?
When you are using aluminum in your casting projects, the most common materials that you will be working with are A380 and A356. There are three basic properties of aluminum: ductility, strength, and toughness. Ductility is the ease with which an aluminum material is deformed. Strength is the resistance of an aluminum material to being strained, or bent without breaking.
Toughness is the ability of an aluminum material to absorb energy when being strained, or bent without breaking. Aluminum alloys contain various A380 diecast aluminum elements to change the aluminum properties. For example, if you want to increase the toughness of an aluminum alloy, you can add titanium. On the other hand, if you want to decrease the ductility of the aluminum, you can add copper.
The strength and ductility of an aluminum material can be changed by altering the ratio of silicon in the alloy. If the ratio of silicon to aluminum is greater than 0.35, the material will be very brittle. The ratio of silicon to aluminum in A356 is approximately 0.38. In contrast, the ratio of silicon to aluminum in A380 is 0.38-0.44. This means that you can alter the ratio of silicon to aluminum to control the strength and ductility of your aluminum casting.