TRIMET Aluminium SE, the aluminium product manufacturer has developed a new aluminium alloy for crash-relevant components. The wrought alloy trimal®-53 is worth for structural components with high strength and excellent deformation capacity.

The aluminium specialist thus now delivers a material for which there is a growing need, especially in the vehicle manufacturing sector. The new TRIMET alloy meets every major carmaker’s need for light-metal materials to produce safety-related vehicle components.

The new wrought alloy trimal®-53 (AlMgSi) achieves strengths of more than 270 megapascals, with an elongation of 10% and more, this new material also meets the high standards required of the compression behaviour. As such, trimal®-53 achieves higher component strength than conventional alloys with the same wall thickness.

Additionally, the strength can be maintained while reducing the wall thickness. This makes it possible to reduce the weight of the component without lowering safety standards. With trimal®-53, TRIMET has developed an alloy that can be used for the most diverse dimensioning objectives and for manufacturing structural components at low cost. The components produced from this material can be thermally or mechanically joined with other materials such as cast nodes. However, this has been communicated that, if necessary, TRIMET can also modify the alloy to meet the specific requirements of the application.

“With this new alloy, we are catering to the growing need for aluminium materials to make structural components and meeting the high requirements of all major manufacturers,” says Thomas Reuther, member of the Executive Board at TRIMET Aluminium SE. trimal®-53 has been developed from the so-called 6xxx series in the research and development division of the family-run company.

Aluminium wrought alloys in this series are established materials in the vehicle manufacturing sector. They feature good strength and formability and are also corrosion-resistant. This alloy group is used in many different application areas and can be easily recycled.

The main alloying elements magnesium and silicon are also responsible for the basic strength of trimal®-53. Other elements produce the finely grained structure of the material and give it its comparatively benevolent quenching behaviour. Homogenization creates a microstructure with predominantly round structured phases. This has a positive effect on the subsequent forming process. The wrought alloy trimal®-53 is particularly suitable for extruded profiles under BMW delivery specifications, but also other application areas.