ALBEMET® AND ALBECAST® ALUMINUM BERYLLIUM METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES (MMCs) ENGINEERED FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES 

Materion’s aluminum beryllium MMCs offer the benefits of two metals combined into one high performing material. This unique combination creates a property set that allows for greater design flexibility, specific stiffness and significant performance advantages over titanium, aluminum and conventional aluminum MMCs.

We offer two aluminum beryllium MMCs—AlBeMet and AlBeCast composites. These two materials offer property sets that meet the demands of advanced technologies and  applications in aviation electronics, inspection equipment for semiconductor assembly, optical structures and satellite structures.

ALBEMET COMPOSITES OFFER HIGH MODULUS AND LOW DENSITY 

AlBeMet MMCs offer the high modulus and low-density characteristics of beryllium with the fabrication and mechanical property behaviors of aluminum, making them ideal for challenging design applications. They also offer: 

• High specific modulus
• Increased performance with less weight
• Thermal stability over temperature ranges -50ºC to 150ºC
• Electron beam weldability for manufacturing of structures and defect repair
• Machinability similar to aluminum
• Smaller, simpler designs
• A modulus to density ratio that is four times that of aluminum or steel
• Low coefficient of thermal expansion
• 22% less dense than aluminum
• 28% higher thermal conductivity than aluminum

Download AlBeMet composite technical data sheet for a technical look at the properties of this composite material.  

When compared to metal matrix and organic composites, aluminum beryllium MMCs are simpler to use and easier to fabricate. AlBeMet composites do not display sensitivity to machining damage, do not require etching after machining and can use typical aluminum coating technologies. The performance-to-cost relationship has allowed our customers to successfully use AlBeMet composites as a replacement for traditional aluminum in applications that require greater rigidity that can be achieved only with aluminum beryllium.

AlBeMet Composites for Aerospace and Defense Applications 

AlBeMet MMCs improve line-of-sight distance and reduce jitter in aerospace and defense optical structures. Its properties allow designers to reduce system size, minimize stress from vibrations and increase the fatigue life of electronic packages while improving performance. These characteristics, paired with its excellent stiffness-to-weight ratio, have made AlBeMet composites a popular choice in optical and structural components in aircraft, satellite and commercial applications, including the U.S. Military’s F-35 Lightning ll, F-16 and the Boeing AH-64 Apache. To date, AlBeMet composites have also been used in more than 150 satellites currently in space.

View our AlBeMet composite case studies to learn more about how our customers are using  aluminum beryllium to advance their aerospace and defense applications.

Technical Specifications of AlBeMet Composites

AlBeMet composites are a powder-metallurgy material offered in three different forms: hot isostatic pressed (HIP), extruded (EXT) and rolled sheet (RS). It can be fabricated using the same techniques and fabrication tooling used for aluminum alloys.

This versatile metal matrix composite should be used when weight and inertia factors exceed those of lower cost aluminum. With its low mass, it can be driven through the scanning cycle much faster, with lower power requirements. AlBeMet composites can be certified to AMS7911, AMS7913 and AMS7912.

Download the AlBeMet composite spec sheet for chemistry and physical properties. 

Engineering Design and Project Support 

Our engineering design team will help you get optimum results when using AlBeMet MMCs for aerospace, defense and space applications. We manage projects risks for our customers and provide engineering support from design inception through project completion. 

Talk with our engineers to get a sample or to discuss how AlBeMet MMCs can advance your application.

ALBECAST® INVESTMENT CASTING COMPOSITES OFFER A COST-EFFECTIVE ALUMINUM BERYLLIUM SOLUTION 

Materion offers AlBeCast® investment cast aluminum beryllium composites, which provide many of the same mechanical properties as AlBeMet® composites, but they can be more cost effective for appropriate applications. 

The AlBeCast investment casting composite, AlBeCast 910, is a near net-shape process that requires less of this material than conventional machining. In addition, the time needed for machining investment cast parts is reduced and the combination of reduced material and fabrication costs can be substantial. 

The high specific stiffness and low-density of AlBeCast composite means it can be used to reduce the weight of aerospace components and aviation electronics housings. For information on AlBeCast composites for aerospace applications, download the AlBeCast material specification.

Manufacturing AlBeCast® Composite 

AlBeCast composite can be manufactured into optical components, housing for electronics, avionics packaging and automotive parts. This composite can also be cast with a rapid prototyping process which can speed up the testing of various designs to determine which is the best option for a specific application. If you are interested in prototyping, download the AlBeCast material rapid manufacturing specification sheet.

The AlBeCast^® Composite Design Guide  

This his guide provides an overview of our AlBeCast aluminum beryllium investment casting process. This document is intended to help engineers understand the aluminum beryllium casting process capabilities, process limitations and typical properties. These are general guidelines and recommendations and they do not represent all of the detail limitations of the process. 

Download The AlBeCast Guide

AlBeCast® 910 Composite

AlBeCast 910 composite is a ternary aluminum beryllium nickel composite. It has a relatively high specific modulus, good ductility and reasonably good strength. The addition of nickel reduces the thermal expansion coefficient, increases tensile properties and improves castability. This makes it a cost-efficient material for housings for avionics electronics or other aerospace applications.

Talk with our engineers to determine whether AlBeMet or AlBeCast is best for your application.