Growing popularity of aluminum and magnesium

As many of our customers are becoming more conscious of weight as well as the ease of recycling, aluminum is becoming a natural choice. Aluminum does not have the same mechanical properties as steel, but in many cases our customers' products are becoming smaller to fit into the smaller footprint of the equipment they make. As a result, aluminum fits the purpose quite well. There are some challenges when switching to aluminum, but we have extensive experience in machining many geometric shapes and unique tolerances. The coefficient of expansion of aluminum is much greater than steel, which presents many challenges and tight tolerances. However, our facility is climate controlled year round, so this becomes a non-issue. Another material that we are seeing a great deal of to further reduce weight is magnesium. Magnesium is ~75% lighter than steel and ~33% lighter than aluminum. With the weight reduction associated with magnesium, the tradeoff is the cost. However, in some applications, the benefit far outweighs the cost. These lightweight materials, even though more expensive, are becoming more common in many applications. Fitzpatrick Manufacturing is highly experienced in machining both aluminum and magnesium. As such, we are able to produce a high quality part that fits your needs while reducing weight.