Hello. I have some part that made from Al 6061 and by machining only from Al bar. In this part I'm using Helicoil for the thread reinforce. I'm trying reduce cost of this part production by casting and hopefully without using helicoil in future. Could anybody suggest the material that could replace Al 6061 and strong enought to make thread in it? Thanks.
Helicoils don't make the joint stronger, except that they make the threaded hole slightly larger. Remember: the helicoil is threaded into the aluminum anyway, just as if you had used a bigger screw.
Helicoils are used for threaded joints that will be disassembled and assembled often, since the aluminum tends to gall when the screw is tightened. If it's a structural part that is basically only assembled once, you can just use a screw and eliminate the insert.
I've never seen inserts used in the machines where I work. Everything I've ever seen here has threaded fasteners directly in aluminum. Maybe the applications don't need inserts (no possibility of stripping out threads), but it's something to think about.
Jeff Finlayson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:
The Helicoil, being oversize, increases strength primarily by transferring the load to what is effectively an oversize nut of the parent material, in this case aluminum. Helicoils were originally designed to allow repair of damaged threads to original size while requiring the minimum increase in diameter in the tapped hole.
I would suggest you get someone to review your design to whom you can give all the relevant information you have. It is only with all the relevant information that any engineer can make the trade offs involved in different choices of material and fabrication techniques.
I, for example, could suggest that since you have room to Helicoil why don't you just go to the next larger size fastener? If this is a spark plug hole that is a silly suggestion. If the Helicoil is really in there to prevent galling because the fastener is removed and re installed frequently, it is a silly answer. Etc., etc.
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