Re: What Is Alloy?

Agent Smith wrote:
nick c <nchen711@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
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Agent Smith wrote:
nick c <nchen711@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
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Agent Smith wrote:
Does anybody know the name (or names) of the famous alloy from
which high- end racing components are made? :] Whenever I see it
referred to in books and articles, it is just called "alloy," but
apparently there's a whole branch of engineering that's embodied in
that single word, and writers gloss over the whole subject when
they say that.

Alloys are chosen or created with the intention to reliably fit the function that engineers planned for in design. My guess is the word alloy is used as representing a variety of alloys suitable for a
given design/application. Example: valves in a high performance
engine, be the valve stems hollow or solid, may be made from 6-4
titanium (heat treated to 160KSI), while domed piston heads may be
made from 6061 aluminum; piston head pins may be made from 7075
aluminum, assembled on connecting rods which may be forged from 6-6
titanium (heat treated to 180KSI). Various stainless steel and/or
titanium parts may be made from sintered stainless steel or
titanium, where loads are low, below the limits of sintered material
yield. Then there's ceramics ...... (shrug)

I supposed you've already done an Internet search? I'll guess again
and say if you've done a search, you may have found alloys having proprietary designations.
Until you said "7075," I didn't have a keyword to search for, but I googled it last night, and now I've got the details. I would have thought that it was alloyed with nickel, but it turns out to be zinc.
Compared to steel, 20+ KSI yield stresses are pretty pathetic, but I
guess that it's sufficient for the loads a component is likely to experience in bicycling. I wonder who Campagnolo's suppliers are,
for that stuff, and who forges it.
Nickel is not a good alloying agent with aluminum.

Do you know why? :]

I can't recall the exact reason but I do recall meeting with metallurgists working for Allegheny saying their macro's showed poor grain structure. I don't know, perhaps never did know, the alloy blend they tested. That was back in the early 60's when titanium sponge was gaining popularity. The industrial titanium alloy widely was (and perhaps still is) 6Al-4V titanium heat treated to 160Ksi -180Ksi Ultimate, with 95Ksi min shear. 6Al-6V Titanium can be heat treated to 180Ksi min but its elasticity is lousy.

Perhaps the latest edition of Mil-HDBK-5 can shed more light on the chemistry of Titanium alloys. The last time I saw a copy of Mil-HDBK-5 was back in the early 90's.


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: What Is Alloy?
    ... be made from 7075 aluminum, assembled on connecting rods which may ... be forged from 6-6 titanium. ... then the result isn't even an alloy at all. ... Since chemical potentials are ...
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  • Re: What Is Alloy?
    ... "alloy," but apparently there's a whole branch of engineering ... which may be forged from 6-6 titanium. ... Various stainless steel and/or titanium parts may be made from ... In the design engineering field, compositions of alloys are not memorized; there are tomes of published material that are commonly used by engineers, should they be interested in knowing such things. ...
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  • Re: What Is Alloy?
    ... "alloy," but apparently there's a whole branch of engineering ... piston heads may be made from 6061 aluminum; ... which may be forged from 6-6 titanium. ... Various stainless steel and/or titanium parts may be made from ...
    (misc.news.internet.discuss)
  • Re: What Is Alloy?
    ... which high- end racing components are made? ... My guess is the word alloy is used as representing a variety of alloys suitable for a ... aluminum, assembled on connecting rods which may be forged from 6-6 ... titanium. ...
    (misc.news.internet.discuss)
  • Re: What Is "Alloy"?
    ... high- end racing components are made? ... to in books and articles, it is just called "alloy," but apparently ... Metals should be referred to by their proper names, e.g. 6061-T6 aluminium alloy, 4130 chromium-molybdenum steel. ...
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