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-----Making an Aluminum Wear Strip
I have an application where I require a sacrificial strip of metal to rub against road (asphalt & concrete) and dirt road type surfaces over a very short distance (4 inches or so). This is not a continuous cycle (maybe 40 or 50 times in a 24 hour period max. I am bonding this material to an aluminum carrier bed. My first choice was SS bar but the cost is becoming a big factor with SS. What grades of aluminum or coatings for 6061-T6 equivalent aluminum can I use as a possible alternative. Is there a 7000 or 8000 series aluminum with good wear properties or will anodizing give a better wear life cycle. The strip will be replaceable but I want to avoid having the customer do that too often. Please advise.
Sanjeev KuriakoseSenior Project Engineer - Greencastle, Pennsylvania, USA
2004
There are wear conditions against which no coating is equivalent to using a harder metal, and I don't really know whether this is one of those cases or not. But it should be quite practical to hardcoat anodize the 6061 to a thickness of say .001" . The coating will be very hard and abrasion resistant. Naturally there are many other possible coatings like chrome plating, electroless nickel, or titanium nitride.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
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2003
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