Aluminium Plates

Aluminium plates can be used in themselves to produce structures, containers and packaging. Aluminium plate can be used for forming items, such as pressure and cold-storage vessels, refrigeration units, vehicle body panels, cooking utensils and household appliances. Aluminium plate can be used for everything from outdoor load-bearing structures such as bridges and skips to beer barrels and milk churns.

Aluminium thick plate can also be used as the raw material for cutting, drilling or machining objects from the basic aluminium plate. These thick aluminium alloy plates can be the basis for creating a huge range of objects, from valve bodies and gears, tool blades and casting moulds to car suspension parts and heat sinks.

Aluminium alloy is known for its high strength-to-weight ratio and easy machineability. It also boasts good corrosion resistance and high performance at low temperatures.

Rapid Metals’ aluminium plate cut to size is 6082 grade aluminium alloy. This is a common, versatile and widely-used aluminium alloy. Among the 6000-series aluminium grades, this has the highest strength (other grades of have higher strength but are more expensive and not as machineable) and excellent corrosion resistance.

For Rapid Metals’ aluminium plate cut to size, this also offers good, repeatable ductility and easy formability. When used as the base material for creating other parts and components, it machines to a very high standard, producing small and tight coils of swarf.

Our aluminium plates of 6082 grade metal are also an excellent material for welding – this metal performs well with gas and arc welding, unlike many other types of aluminium alloy.

For finishing, our aluminium plate shows retains its good performance for corrosion resistance and hardness when anodised, and can also be artificially aged and tempered through heat treatments.