Due to its excellent forming properties and very high load-bearing capacity, aluminium is used in all areas of the economy. Nevertheless, there are some focus industries: According to the industry association Aluminium Deutschland, almost half of the aluminium products go to the transport industry (46 percent). The construction industry and packaging industry, on the other hand, use around 26 percent together. Industry, especially mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and the iron and steel industry, also uses a lot of aluminium, namely 19 percent of German aluminium production.

The most quantitatively important production area of the German aluminium industry is the semi-finished aluminium product, of which rolled and extruded products are the most important in terms of volume.

Pressed and drawn products are distinguished by profiles, bars, tubes and wires.

Another very important production area is aluminium die casting, i.e. finished components that are manufactured using different casting processes such as sand casting or die casting. Aluminium's low melting temperature makes it suitable for the production of cast parts. The main customer here is the automotive industry.

Aluminium is a very diverse material. Consumers know it, for example, as aluminium foil or a drinks can; other well-known products that catch your eye every day are household objects and appliances, furniture or facade systems.

If you take a closer look, it is really apparent how ubiquitous aluminium is. This is mainly due to its versatility. Aluminium is a multi-functional raw material – light and stable, but tough. Its outstanding forming properties and high load capacity are impressive. And: Compared to steel, aluminium components have less than half the weight, with the same strength (around 60 percent less weight).

This is why aluminium – usually in the form of alloys – is always used where weight savings, stability and a protective function are required.

The most important applications of aluminium are:

transport and traffic: Vehicle manufacturers value aluminium primarily for its lightness, because it saves energy and fuel. The automotive industry uses it for bodies, chassis, engine blocks, cylinder heads, transmissions, doors, rims and wheels, among other things. Aluminium is also used extensively for bicycles, motorcycles, trains, ship and aircraft construction and even in aerospace.

Packaging and containers: In addition to the classic aluminium foil, aluminium is used as drinks or spray cans, bottles and tubes, as yoghurt cup lids, coffee capsules, grill pans, medicine blister packaging and much more. It is ideally suited for use as packaging material: It is lightweight and therefore reduces transport costs, stays tight, withstands heat and cold and has no inherent taste. It is also often used as a container and system for the food and chemical industry.

Construction: Aluminium is of particular interest to the construction industry as a construction material for lightweight construction and as a functional material. It is easy to process, non-combustible and weather-resistant – making it ideal for windows and doors, facades, shower cubicles, fittings and handles, tubes, railings or wall and roof systems. And last but not least, the increased use of alternative energies has opened up further areas of application for the material aluminium, for example in wind and solar power plants or in heat exchangers.

Electrical engineering and mechanical engineering: Good to process, non-magnetic and above all good electrical and thermal conductivity – these properties are appreciated by mechanical engineering and the electrical engineering industry. Aluminium can therefore be found in capacitors, housings of electric motors, switch cabinets, tubes, high and low-voltage cables and busbars, in microchip production, in cooling fins and storage plates of IT installations, as a precision part, in cylinders and much more.

Household and leisure: If you look carefully in your home, you will discover aluminium almost everywhere. On the one hand because it is light and stable, and on the other because it has a particularly decorative and beautifully designable surface. It is considered to be a particularly “aesthetic” material. You can find it in the kitchen in pots, pans, crockery and cutlery, mobile phones and TVs, furniture, ladders, garden chairs and dozens of other everyday products.

The entire range of grinding applications, from coarse to fine, is used throughout the entire production process for the surface processing of aluminium.

First, the deburring: Sharp edges and burrs on the cut edges must be removed in the same way as welds. In addition, weld seam preparation plays an important role. Abrasion of casting and bevelling of workpieces are also among the most important applications in the manufacture and processing of aluminium products.

Surface unevenness and imperfections are ground out during repair grinding or cleaning grinding. The final step is then finishing toward fine surfaces with a desired technical surface quality.

Depending on the workpiece size and requirements, aluminium is processed either by flat grinding, by backstand grinding (also known as a grinding trestle) - or with a hand power tool, such as an angle grinder or drum grinder.

With regard to the above-mentioned properties of aluminium – above all very good machinability, a strong tendency to smear and high thermal conductivity – it is good to follow a few basic machining or grinding rules.

If you want to achieve the highest possible stock removal when grinding aluminium, you start with a coarse grit size – with VSM ALU-X this is already possible from grit size P24 – and refine the grit size with every work step, for example in increments of 100. This allows the grinding marks from the previous steps to be ground out well.

ALU-X grinding wheels XF733 or the XK733X abrasive belt excel particularly in rough grinding work with high power over the entire grinding time and provide maximum stock removal with little chip adhesion. For intermediate sanding, for example, you can switch to ALU-X KK732F, an abrasive with versatile aluminium oxide abrasive grain on a flexible cotton fabric carrier. It is available in grit sizes from P80 to P600.

High cutting speed results in smaller chips. This reduces clogging and build-up of cutting edges. The cutting speed recommended by experts is vc = 35−40 m/s.

The choice of grinding pressure should always depend on the nature and possible alloys of the material. Particularly deep scratches usually require a high pressure at the beginning – but always with sensitivity, otherwise too much is quickly ground away and the effort for further processing is sometimes greater than before.

The grinding of aluminium requires constant cooling so that the surface does not burn or damage the material. Finer grit sizes tend to generate more friction and therefore higher temperatures in the workpiece. A cooling lubricant (KSS) can also help here.

Tip: Avoid contamination
Aluminium cannot “rust” (it can, however, corrode), but metal chips or residues of other ferrous metals can be “worked” into the aluminium by using contaminated abrasives, and in the worst case, rust there. For this reason, abrasives with which aluminium has been processed may only be used for this purpose. The tools for aluminium processing should also only be used for this material. And last but not least, we recommend storing the different abrasives separately.

Tip: Carry out test grinding
Grinding aluminium requires a great deal of dexterity and, ideally, experience. Therefore, it is always advisable to test the pressure and speed for a new grinding operation on a pattern or a small area of the material before attempting a complete workpiece and large-area machining.