In September 2017, a HRL Laboratories team published a paper announcing that they had succeeded in 3D printing a traditionally non-weldable, high-strength aluminum alloy. A feat of ingenuity, the team functionalized an incredibly crack-prone material with average yield strengths up to 580 MPa. Two years later, the material used by HRL in this experiment became the first additive manufacturing aluminum alloy registered with the historic Aluminum Association.
Known as Aluminum 7A77.60L, this metal powder for 3D printing is now available to buy directly from HRL.
By commercially releasing the material to the market, HRL has now achieved what it set out to do: “HRL’s goal in developing materials has always been to make sure designers have the opportunity to use the highest performing materials possible,” explains Hunter Martin, PhD, Chief Metallurgist at HRL Laboratories.
“7a77 is the strongest additive aluminium on the market and provides unmatched design freedom.”
HRL Laboratories is a research facility dedicated to advancing the development of microelectronics, information & systems sciences, materials, sensors, and photonics. It is currently co-owned by General Motors Corporation and Boeing.
The main strengthening elements of 7000 series alloys are Zinc, Copper and Magnesium. By striking the balance between these elements, Martin notes, “we knew that we had a chemistry in 7A77 that could provide the highest performance, like its wrought counterpart 7075.” The next step, however, was “to unlock that potential with the correct processing parameters” for 3D printing.
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