This British Standard has been prepared under the direction of the Non-ferrous Metals Standards Committee. It is the fourth revision of this standard and replaces the 1972 edition which is withdrawn. Other standards in this series of specifications for wrought aluminium and aluminium alloys for general engineering purposes are as follows.
BS 1470, Plate sheet and strip.
BS 1471, Drawn tube.
BS 1472, Forging stock and forgings.
BS 1473, Rivet, bolt and screw stock.
BS 1475, Wire.
New designation systems for both composition and tempers have been introduced in this revision. As a major step towards alignment of aluminium and aluminium alloy compositions on an international basis a substantial number of countries have agreed to adopt a 4-digit classification for alloy composition designation. This system is administered by the Aluminium Association (AA) of the USA, which issues the “Registration record of international alloy designations and chemical composition limits for wrought aluminium and wrought aluminium alloys”).
It has been decided to use this system in British Standards to designate the nominal chemical composition of the alloys specified. This has necessitated, in some cases, minor compositional changes from the previous alloys used. The details of the AA system are given in Appendix B, and a cross-reference table for the new and old British Standard alloy designations and the nearest equivalent ISO (International Organization for Standardization) alloy designations is included in Appendix C.
The temper designation system used is that given in BS EN 515.
The opportunity was taken in this revision to consider the alloys and tempers currently used commercially in significant quantities. As a consequence, one alloy previously in BS 4300/4 (alloy 6463) and a new alloy 6060 have been included.
The appendices contained in the 1972 edition concerning forms of material available, the annealing and heat treatment of wrought aluminium and its alloys, and standard sizes of material, have been omitted.
Detailed information concerning the annealing and heat treatment of aluminium alloys can be obtained from the Aluminium Federation publication “Properties of aluminium and its alloys’2).
In previous editions of this standard, clauses were included entitled “Inspection” and “Facilities for testing”. As these clauses were contractual in nature and are not relevant to a product standard, they have been omitted from this revision.
