ForMatter/Materials/metal/Aluminum A356 (Cast)
mat_aluminum_cast_a356

Aluminum A356 (Cast)

casting aluminum alloy, hypoeutectic Al-Si · A356.0-T6, Al-Si-Mg cast, 356 casting alloy
highlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

The cast-aluminum alloy almost every reasonable cast aluminum part is made of — engine cases, suspension knuckles, alloy wheels, structural brackets. Flows well into the mold, accepts heat treatment to surprisingly high strength, and welds cleanly. The grayer cousin of the wrought 6000-series alloys, kept in the foundry's pot and poured.

Hypoeutectic Al-Si-Mg cast alloy (7% Si, 0.3% Mg nominal). The Si content depresses liquidus and improves castability through narrow freezing range and Si-eutectic flow behavior; Mg enables T6 precipitation hardening. Tensile 280 MPa T6, yield 207 MPa. Substrate of choice for sand, permanent-mold, and investment casting of structural aluminum.

mechanical

  • tensile_strength_mpa_t6280
  • yield_strength_mpa_t6207
  • elongation_pct_t66
  • hardness_brinell_t680
source: ASM Handbook Vol. 2; ASTM B26

thermal

  • liquidus_c615
  • solidus_c555
  • thermal_conductivity_w_mk151
source: ASM Handbook

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg9.6
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • embodied carbon recycled kg co2e per kg0.7
  • recyclabilityhigh — closed-loop foundry recovery is mature
  • biodegradableFalse
  • certificationsASTM B26 (sand cast), AMS 4218
visual
as-cast surface texture (sandcast grain, investment-cast shell texture); machines to standard aluminum gloss
tactile
characteristically cool, slightly more granular as-cast than wrought aluminum
weight perception
light

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere metallic finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      metallic
albedo        #b0b4ba
metallic      1.00
roughness     0.25
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#b0b4ba",
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Aluminum A356 (Cast) · finish: metallic
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_aluminum_cast_a356")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.4342, 0.4564, 0.491, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 1.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.250
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Aluminum A356 (Cast) · finish: metallic
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_aluminum_cast_a356", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (176, 180, 186))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     1.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.250)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Aluminum A356 (Cast) \u00b7 finish: metallic",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.4342,
    "g": 0.4564,
    "b": 0.491
  },
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_aluminum_cast_a356",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.4342,
          0.4564,
          0.491,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 1.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.25
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Aluminum A356 (Cast) · finish: metallic
def Material "mat_aluminum_cast_a356" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_aluminum_cast_a356/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.4342, 0.4564, 0.491)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 1.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.250
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
ProcessCNC Milling · Anodizing · TIG Welding
Substitutes
Aluminum 6061
Aluminum 6063

Citations