Process Performance Analysis and Improvement for the Manufacture of 6063 Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

As industrial manufacturing technologies continuously improve, many conventional industrial materials are struggling to meet the needs of today’s industries. Aluminum alloys are currently the most extensively used non-ferrous metal in the industry, whose properties include corrosion resistance, high strength, and high ductility. As a result, they are widely used in many products, such as doors and windows, vehicles, and electronics. Pure aluminum though, is a very soft, silver-white metal, so to increase its strength, aluminum alloy manufacturers add in various chemical elements (such as magnesium, silicon, and zinc) according to international standards, and then adjust the proportions based on customer needs. If the chemical element composition does not meet specification requirements, it will affect the quality of the aluminum alloy product or even delay delivery and subsequently impact the operational performance of the manufacturer. To ensure and increase aluminum alloy quality, this study used a combined Six Sigma quality index (SSQI), Qpc, to develop a multi-characteristic quality analysis model (MCQAM) with five steps for the aluminum alloy industry. A practical example with a manufacturer specializing in producing 6063 aluminum alloys in Taiwan is given to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of this proposed approach. The result shows that the proposed method not only effectively improves the quality of 6063 aluminum alloy, but also enhances its performance and capability (that is, corrosion resistance increases by 17%, strength increases by 8%, and stiffness increases by 3%). Finally, future works are also discussed in this context.