GRADE GUIDE · 6061
Aluminium 6061 (AlMg1SiCu) is the general-purpose heat-treatable alloy — in T6 temper it yields about 276 MPa, machines beautifully, and covers everything from machine parts and jigs to frames and brackets. If a workshop stocks one aluminium grade in plate and bar, it is 6061-T6.
Also listed as: AlMg1SiCu · EN AW-6061 · A96061 · 3.3211
Stock turns over piece by piece — what's listed is what exists. Post the spec you need and we match it against incoming material; you're alerted the moment something lands.
6061 earns its default status by refusing to be bad at anything: solid structural strength from the magnesium-silicon ageing treatment, clean free-machining chips (unlike the gummy 5xxx alloys), good anodising response, acceptable corrosion resistance, and availability in every form. CNC shops chew through 6061 plate for fixtures, housings and one-off parts precisely because it is predictable.
Its limits are the mirror of its temper: T6 strength drops sharply in weld heat-affected zones (design welded joints accordingly or re-age), and tight cold bends crack where 5052 would fold happily. Off-cut plate and bar ends from machining shops are the classic listing — certified, generous, and priced well under mill lengths.
Solution heat treatment plus artificial ageing — the cycle that develops the alloy's full 276 MPa yield. The same metal in annealed O temper is soft; the certificate's temper code matters as much as the grade.
The heat-affected zone falls to roughly half strength as the ageing is undone locally. Designs either size joints for that, place welds in low-stress areas, or post-weld age the assembly.
They overlap heavily: 6061 is the American standard, 6082 the European with slightly higher strength in plate. Most jobs accept either; match whichever the drawing or certificate names.