Determination of the Suitability of Locally Available Aluminum Scrap for Production of Motorcycle Brake Shoe

High demand for motorcycle and its spare parts in the country necessitate production of some of its parts locally to  conserve foreign exchange and create jobs. Brake shoes are one of the frequently replaceable parts in the motorcycle,  and hence, need for domestication to reduce pressure on importation. In this paper, aluminum scraps were obtained  from two local aluminum companies and were characterized via chemical analysis with positive material identifica tion machine, tensile test with Instron 300DX, hardness test with Wolpert Wilson instrument MLIE/TL/003, and  fatigue test with Mitsubishi A200. The results were compared with the composition and properties of aluminum 360,  380, 383, and B390 standards selected from previous research to be suitable for motorcycle brake shoe production.  Appropriate master alloy was selected based on the chemical composition of the target metal obtained from litera ture, chemical composition of the scraps and oxidation of elements during the process of melting. Appropriate quan tities of charge required was calculated analytically.  The results obtained shows that the scraps conformed to the  6xxx series of aluminum alloy with hardness of 44-69% less, yield strength of 57-75% less, ultimate tensile strength  of 78-80% less, percentage elongation of 57-79% less, and fatigue strength of 6-43% higher when compared with  aluminum 360, 380, 383, and B390 standards. It was observed that the local scraps were not suitable to produce  motorcycle brake shoe. Therefore, some quantities of Al - Si 50 and Al – Cu 33 should be incorporated into the scrap  to meet up with aluminum 360, 380, 383 and B390 standard.