A Study of the Technical and Economic Aspects of Artificially Aging Aluminum Automotive Alloys

By utilizing the rapid aging response of 6010 and 6009 auto body sheet alloys to short time-high temperature aging practices, separate aging cycles can be economically utilized for decreasing the cost of aluminum automotive panels. This report details not only the technical basis for these short time aging cycles, but also assesses the comparative costs of automotive panels designed with and without the high strengths that can be achieved through separate artificial aging. The analysis shows that the added costs associated with separate artificial aging are far outweighed by the material cost savings permitted by downgauging.