Aluminum alloy forgings are mainly used in industrial sectors that require a large degree of lightweight. According to the current application conditions in various countries, the main market distribution is as follows.
(1) Aviation (aircraft) forgings
Forgings on aircraft account for about 70% of the weight of aircraft materials, such as landing gear, frames, ribs, engine parts, moving and fixed rings, etc. There are thousands of forgings used on an aircraft. Among them, except for a few high-temperature components that use high-temperature alloy and titanium alloy forgings, most of them have been aluminized. For example, the Boeing Company of the United States has an annual production of thousands of aircraft and consumes tens of thousands of tons of aluminum alloy forgings. my country’s fighter planes and other military aircraft and civilian aircraft are also developing rapidly. In particular, the launch of large aircraft projects and the implementation of major key projects such as aircraft carriers will consume more aluminum forgings year by year.
(2) Aerospace forgings
The forgings on the spacecraft are mainly forged rings, rims, spars, and bases, and most of them are aluminum forgings, but only a few titanium forgings. The development of spacecraft, rockets, missiles, satellites, etc. has increasingly demanded aluminum forgings. For example, in recent years, my country has developed AL-Li alloy shell forgings for ultra-long-range missiles, each weighing more than 300 kilograms and worth several hundred thousand yuan. The amount of forged aluminum alloy rings of Φ1.5～Φ6mm is also increasing.
(3) Weapon industry
The number of aluminum forgings used as load-bearing parts on conventional weapons such as tanks, armored vehicles, personnel carriers, chariots, rockets, artillery mounts, warships, etc., has greatly increased, basically replacing steel forgings. In particular, important forgings such as aluminum alloy tank wheels have become important materials for lightweight and modern weapons and equipment.
(4) Automobiles
Automobiles are the most promising industry using aluminum alloy forgings and the largest user of aluminum forgings. Mainly used as wheels (especially heavy-duty vehicles and large and medium-sized passenger cars), bumpers, base beams, and other small aluminum forgings. Among them, aluminum wheels are the most used aluminum forgings and are mainly used for buses, trucks, and heavy vehicles.
(5) In the energy and power industry, aluminum forgings will gradually replace certain steel forgings to make racks, guard rings, moving and fixed rings, as well as coal transport wheels, LNG flanges, and nuclear power plant fuel racks. Medium forgings.
(6) Aluminum forgings are used on ships and naval vessels as frames, moving and fixed rings, and gun stands.
(7) In the machinery manufacturing industry, it is currently mainly used to make racks, sliders, connecting rods, and winches in woodworking machinery and textile machinery. Only the aluminum forgings of winches for textile machines are needed every year in my country Tens of thousands of pieces, weighing more than 1,500 tons.
(8) In the mold industry, aluminum alloy forgings are used to make rubber molds, shoe molds, and other light industrial molds.
(9) In the transportation machinery and train and locomotive industries, aluminum alloy forgings are used in large quantities as cylinders and piston skirts. Tens of thousands of forgings such as 4032 alloy cylinders and piston skirts are consumed every year in China.
(10) In other areas, such as electronic communications, household appliances, cultural and sports equipment, etc., aluminum forgings have also begun to replace steel, copper, and other materials.
