Industry Standards for Diamond Plate Metal

Diamond plate metal can be useful in many applications, including but not limited to plating on vehicles and trailers, fenders, flooring, stair treads, and railings.  The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International creates standards for American businesses.

Many of these standards need to be considered when manufacturing aluminum diamond plate, it is important to verify that the following standards have been met in the diamond plate specified:

• Composition
  • The alloy used will be marked with a tag as outlined in ASTM B666/B666M
    • The identification tag will indicate the alloy and temper of the product, size provided, and primary specifications for production
  • Aluminum diamond plate is created from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) alloys H35.1/H35.1M
    • Equivalent to Unified Numbering System (UNS) alloys 6061 and 3003
    • Largely aluminum with hints of magnesium and silicon
  • ASTM requires a raised pattern on at least one side of aluminum diamond plate, the pattern provides slip resistance required in many applications
    • “1.1 This specification covers aluminum-alloy rolled flat tread plate, mill-finish, with a raised pattern on one side, in the alloy, tempers, and thicknesses shown in Table 1 and Table 2 [Table 3].”

• Material Standards
  • Aluminum diamond plate is manufactured in accordance with ASTM B632; aluminum alloy rolled tread plate.
  • For anodic oxide coatings on aluminum, ASTM B580 is the standard
  • ASTM B137 outlines the testing process to verify material coating; samples are made in the manufacturing process and destructively tested
  • In instances where the material is heat-treated, it should be in accordance with ASTM B918
  • The chemical composition is confirmed referencing ASTM E34

• Testing Standards
  • Reflectance is measured using ASTM method D523
  • Electrical impedance is tested with ASTM B457
  • Corrosion test is specified in ASTM B538
  • Coated diamond plate is tested using ASTM B487 with a cross section of the plate and inspected with a microscope to evaluate the thickness
    • “1.2 Under good conditions, when using an optical microscope, the method is capable of giving an absolute measuring accuracy of 0.8 m.  This will determine the suitability of the method for measuring the thickness of thin coatings.”

   

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Industry Standards for an Aluminum Diamond Plate.http://www.ehow.com/print/info_8743672_industry-standards-aluminum-diamond-plate.html