6082 aluminium alloy is an alloy in the wrought aluminium-magnesium-silicon family (6000 or 6xxx series). It is one of the more popular alloys in its series (alongside alloys 6005, 6061, and 6063), although it is not strongly featured in ASTM standards. It is typically formed by extrusion and rolling, but as a wrought alloy it is not used in casting. It can also be forged and clad, but that is not common practice with this alloy. It cannot be work hardened, but is commonly heat treated to produce tempers with a higher strength but lower ductility.

In plate form, 6082 is the alloy most commonly used for general machining. It is widely used in Europe and has replaced 6061 alloy in many applications, primarily due to its higher strength (from a large amount of manganese) and its excellent resistance to corrosion. It is typically seen in transport, scaffolding, bridges and general engineering.

The most common tempers for Aluminium alloy 6082 are:

• O – annealed wrought alloy
• T4 – Solution heat treated and naturally aged
• T6 – Solution heat treated and artificially aged
• T651 – Solution heat treated, stress relieved by stretching and then artificially aged

Alloy 6082 Properties

Alloy 6082 offers similar, but not equivalent, physical characteristics to 6061 alloy, and slightly higher mechanical properties in the -T6 condition. It has good finishing characteristics and responds well to the most common anodic coatings (i.e., clear, clear and dye, hardcoat).

Various commercial joining methods (e.g., welding, brazing, etc.) can be applied to alloy 6082; however, heat treatment may reduce strength in the weld region. It provides good machinability in the –T5 and –T6 tempers, but chip breakers or special machining techniques (e.g., peck drilling) are recommended for improving chip formation.

The -0 or -T4 temper is recommended when bending or forming alloy 6082. It can also be difficult to produce thin walled extrusion shapes in 6082 alloy, so -T6 temper may not be available due to alloy quenching limitations.

Uses for 6082 Alloy

Alloy 6082’s good weldability, brazeability, corrosion resistance, formability and machinability make it useful for rod, bar and machining stock, seamless aluminum tubing, structural profiles and custom profiles.

These characteristics, as well as its light weight and excellent mechanical properties, contributed to the use of 6082-T6 alloy in automobile, aviation and high-speed rail applications.

Supplied Forms

• Square bar
• Square box section
• Rectangular box section
• Channel
• Tee section
• Equal angle
• Unequal angle
• Flat bar
• Tube
• Sheet