6061 vs 7075 Aluminum for Battery/Motor/ESC Mounts — Which Do You Actually Prefer?

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sos2627

sos2627

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Hey guys,

I'm working on some custom battery, motor, and ESC mounts for the Losi 5IVE-T and trying to decide on the aluminum spec.
Most of the Chinese option parts out there are 7075, but I'm leaning toward 6061 since it machines cleaner, it's a bit lighter, and honestly strong enough for mounts that aren't taking direct impact.
Curious what you guys think — does material actually matter to you when buying mounts, or do fit and price matter more?
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Anyone have experience with both?


Thanks!
 

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smokinwheel said:
7075has higher tensile strength than 6061 but 6061 is easier to machine.

For what you are doing that truck will not know what alloy you used.
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It has now been processed to 7075. The processing cost is too high, so I am considering producing it with 6061.
 
From strictly a custom standpoint. If you're having someone make them for you no aluminum is challenging to machine. At all. The material cost will be the difference and that should be reasonably negligible.

For what you're doing 6061 is more than strong enough. 7075 would be a better chassis material but everything else is already going to be rigid as hell.
 
Thank you for your response. Requesting machining for material 7075 was too expensive, so I considered buying a 5-axis machine, but since it is not yet commercialized, I was deeply concerned. If the 6061 isn't recognized poorly, I'll go with this :)
 
XJman said:
From strictly a custom standpoint. If you're having someone make them for you no aluminum is challenging to machine. At all. The material cost will be the difference and that should be reasonably negligible.

For what you're doing 6061 is more than strong enough. 7075 would be a better chassis material but everything else is already going to be rigid as hell.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your response. Requesting machining for material 7075 was too expensive, so I considered buying a 5-axis machine, but since it is not yet commercialized, I was deeply concerned. If the 6061 isn't recognized poorly, I'll go with this :)
 
sos2627 said:
Thank you for your response. Requesting machining for material 7075 was too expensive, so I considered buying a 5-axis machine, but since it is not yet commercialized, I was deeply concerned. If the 6061 isn't recognized poorly, I'll go with this :)
Click to expand...
You see 7075 in a lot of structural stuff in aerospace. Its stronger and if I remember less prone to fatigue wear. In an RC application for something like a motor mount its going to have overkill of tensile strength. Most modern shops have equipment and carbide tooling that will blast through aluminum alloys like its not even there. To the point we don't even differentiate the 2 when it comes to feeds, speeds and depth of cut.

Setting up a home machine shop is not easy, especially if you're looking at CNC equipment. There are companies that sell small desktop 5 axis mills but even aluminum can be a PITA on them and precision might be challenging if they have opted for steppers over servo drives. What I'd recommend is finding an old bridgeport knee mill and using that without trying to spend money on automation. You can do anything with a knee mill sine vise and a rotary table.

I can ask my supplier material prices but chances are you'll be buying somewhere lime mcmaster carr and their material prices are all over the place and expensive as holy hell. but for a 2" diameter rod the prices should be within 10 to 15 bucks a foot if I recall from the last material invoice I looked at. Might be different now with the tariffs and stuff.
 
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