6063 (AlMg0.7Si, H9, A96063) Aluminum
6063 aluminum is a 6000-series aluminum alloy: there is significant alloying with both magnesium and silicon, and the alloy is formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 6063 is the Aluminum Association (AA) designation for this material. In European standards, it will be given as EN AW-6063. H9 is the British Standard (BS) designation. A96063 is the UNS number. Additionally, the EN chemical designation is AlMg0,7Si. Older literature may refer to this material as CSA GS10, but this is now discouraged.
It has been in use since 1944, but has only received its standard designation in 1954. This material is well established: the Further Reading section below cites a number of published standards, and that list is not necessarily exhaustive.
It can have the lowest tensile strength among the 6000-series alloys in the database.
The properties of 6063 aluminum include thirteen common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare 6063 aluminum to: 6000-series alloys (top), all aluminum alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness
25 to 95
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
68 GPa 9.9 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
7.3 to 21 %
Fatigue Strength
39 to 95 MPa 5.6 to 14 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.33
Shear Modulus
26 GPa 3.7 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
70 to 190 MPa 10 to 27 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
110 to 300 MPa 15 to 44 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
49 to 270 MPa 7.2 to 39 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
400 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
160 °C 320 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
650 °C 1210 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
620 °C 1140 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
900 J/kg-K 0.22 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
190 to 220 W/m-K 110 to 130 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
23 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
49 to 58 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
160 to 190 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
9.5 % relative
Calomel Potential
-740 mV
Density
2.7 g/cm3 170 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
8.3 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
150 MJ/kg 66 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
1190 L/kg 140 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
13 to 27 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
18 to 540 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
50 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
11 to 31 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
18 to 37 points
Thermal Diffusivity
79 to 89 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
4.8 to 13 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought aluminum alloys, the composition of 6063 aluminum is notable for containing comparatively high amounts of magnesium (Mg) and silicon (Si). Magnesium promotes hardenability through both heat treatment and strain hardening mechanisms. It also increases susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. Silicon is used to increase strength at the expense of ductility. It also lowers the melting temperature and raises the fluidity of the alloy.
| Al | 97.5 to 99.4 | |
| Mg | 0.45 to 0.9 | |
| Si | 0.2 to 0.6 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.35 | |
| Mn | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Cr | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Ti | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Zn | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Cu | 0 to 0.1 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.15 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B491: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Extruded Round Tubes for General-Purpose Applications
ASTM B483: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Tube and Pipe for General Purpose Applications
ASTM B210: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Seamless Tubes
ASTM B221: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Extruded Bars, Rods, Wire, Profiles, and Tubes
Environmental Degradation of Advanced and Traditional Engineering Materials, Lloyd H. Hihara et al., 2014.
EN 754-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Cold drawn rod/bar and tube. Mechanical properties
Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012
EN 755-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Extruded rod/bar, tube and profiles. Mechanical properties
Aluminum Standards and Data, Aluminum Association Inc., 2013
ASM Specialty Handbook: Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys, J. R. Davis (editor), 1993