Abstract

This study aims to improve manufacturing parameters of the AA 6063 aluminum alloy produced with the vertical continuous casting method. For this purpose, the billets were manufactured at different metal temperatures and different casting speeds, using the vertical continuous casting method. Billet specimens were prepared at two different conditions: casting and homogenization heat treatment. The homogenization heat treatment was applied at 580°C for 4 h. Specimens at each group were exposed to microstructure analyses and hardness and tensile tests in order to determine their mechanical properties. As a result of the applied experiments, it was determined that the mechanical properties varied depending on metal temperature and casting speed; and the optimum casting parameters were 690°C metal temperature and 100 to 110 mm/min casting speed.

Key words: Aluminum alloys, AA 6063, DC casting, mechanical properties.