Aluminium Extrusions – Perfectly Suited to Yachting and Marine Applications
In yachting and marine applications, aluminium is an ideal material for a wide range of designs – plus, it keeps weight down and produces a high-quality surface finish. Just one third of the weight of steel, it’s durable, strong and highly corrosion-resistant. Without the need for protection, it offers far lower maintenance costs than steel. It’s also completely recyclable.
The Lightweight Material That Saves Cost Through Design
Extremely versatile, aluminium helps reduce production costs by enabling innovative designs to integrate several functions into one profile. Also, its low-maintenance properties make it highly practical as well as cost-effective. All reasons why it’s so well suited to many yachting and marine applications, and used widely throughout the industry today. Through pioneering research and development, aluminium specialist Sapa extrudes this remarkable metal specifically to meet the demands of yachting and marine applications. Sapa works with clients to help them create new designs, producing and supplying machined, pre-assembled and finished components to their precise requirements. As well as its design capabilities, aluminium has a lower environmental impact – for example, less fuel consumption due to lighter vessels, less painting or removal of old paint, and easier decommissioning and recycling.
A Smoother, Flatter Finish, Cost-Effectively
To produce panels, Sapa uses Friction Stir Welding (FSW), which uses a rotating tool to create a homogenous grain structure in the weld zone to join the metal together. Compared to gas metal arc welding, FSW results in higher strength welds that are flush with the surface, with less deformation in the components. So the resulting surface finish is flatter and smoother. FSW also reduces material deformation and this in turn requires less filler – which reduces weight and cost even further. Sapa friction stir welds and machines some of the longest and widest aluminium panels in the world, with superior tolerances and without sacrificing strength.
5083 Series – the New Alloys for Marine-Grade Extrusions
Sapa is continuously developing new alloys, to offer even greater structural strength and corrosion resistance to yacht builders. The latest is 5083, highly resistant to corrosion in a saline environment, and with better weldability and predictable post-weld strength. 5083 extrusions and panels meet the stringent technical requirements for marine structural applications as required by DNV GL, LR and ABS.