What aluminium is used in the Novatac T6 or T7?

machoamigo

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Anyone know what alu is used in the Novatac flashlight T6 or T7? I wanted to know because I have two of them and wondering what type of aluminium is used for these great flashlights.

Thanks for your help. :)
 

Marduke

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T6 or T7 is just the heat treatment, not the alloy used.

Most high end lights generally use 6061 (more common) or 7075 (less common), most often with a T6 heat treatment
 
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machoamigo

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Thanks Marduke.

Do you mean that the aluminium they say is the same except that the treatment is different?

Then what is 6061 and 7075 aluminium?
 

yaesumofo

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I beleive it is 6061.
I am quite sure that it is NOT 7075.
IMHO lights of this caliber should be made from 7075.
If given a choice 7075 would be my first choice in the use of aluminum alloy.
Yaesumofo
 

machoamigo

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I beleive it is 6061.
I am quite sure that it is NOT 7075.
IMHO lights of this caliber should be made from 7075.
If given a choice 7075 would be my first choice in the use of aluminum alloy.
Yaesumofo

+1 on that.

I beleieve that Novatac should have used 7075 aluminium alloy.

I wonder if that would have made the Novatac any stronger than it already is :thinking:.
 

Marduke

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Thanks Marduke.

Do you mean that the aluminium they say is the same except that the treatment is different?

Then what is 6061 and 7075 aluminium?

In short, the first 4 digits denote the chemical makeup of the alloy in question. The first digit denotes the primary alloying element used (pure aluminum, copper, magnesium, etc.). Stuff after those first 4 digits (T6, T7, etc) denote a treatment process such as annealing or heat treatment.

When you add it all up, there are somewhere around 20000 different types of aluminum.
 

Justin Case

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The 4 digit system is for wrought alloys. The four digit system with decimal point is for cast alloys.

1xxx, 99% min pure aluminum
2xxx, Cu major alloying element
3xxx, Mn
4xxx, Si
5xxx, Mg
6xxx, Mg and Si
7xxx, Zn
8xxx, other element

There are some exceptions to the rule that for 2xxx through 7xxx, the alloy group is determined by the alloying element present in the greatest mean percentage, but it is a good rule of thumb.

6061 alloy Al-0.6Si-0.28Mn-1Mg-0.2Cr (in wt %)

7075 alloy is Al-1.6Cu-2.5Mg-.23Cr-5.6Zn.

T6 heat treatment is solution treated, quenched, and artificially aged.

T7 is solution treated, quenched, and stabilized.

Solution treatment -- the alloy is heated into the single phase field and held for enough time for any second phase to dissolve and disperse into the solid solution.

Quenched -- rapidly cooled to avoid second phase precipitation and retain the solid solution. Goal is to produce a supersaturated solid solution that is then ready for precipitation hardening.

Artificial aging -- heat the alloy for precipitation hardening.

Stabilized -- overaging that trades off some strength to improve some other aspect such as dimensional stability or corrosion resistance.
 
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