Aluminum-based material and a method for manufacturing products from aluminum-based material

A process for making a article from the aluminum-based material, having a tensile strength of at least 530 Mpa and a relative elongation of at least 2%, comprising the steps of:

• casting the articles from a molten mixture of aluminum, zinc, magnesium, copper, and nickel;
• solidifying the material and a subsequent heat treatment of the material that includes the steps of;
• heating the article,
• holding the article,
• quenching the article, and
• aging the article,
• wherein at least one of the elements selected from the group consisting of chromium and zirconium being introduced into the molten mixture, the molten mixture being solidified at a cooling rate of 2 K/s to 90 K/s, the articles being heated, according to the heat treatment, to a first temperature established at a level of 5 K to 10 K lower than the temperature of nonequilibrium solidus of the aluminum-based material and then being heated to a second temperature established at a level higher than the nonequilibrium solidus of said aluminum-based material and below the equilibrium solidus of said aluminum-based material, said articles being held subsequently at the first temperature and the second temperature during the time that provides obtaining, after aging, said aluminum-based material with a matrix having a microhardness of at least HV 170, formed by a solid solution of zinc, magnesium, and copper in aluminum and by dispersed particles of phases formed by aluminum, zinc, magnesium, and copper and essentially uniformly distributed in said solid solution with the magnesium content being higher than the copper content, wherein said matrix comprises Zn 5-8%, Mg 1.5-3%, Cu 0.5-2%, balance Al, and containing particles of nickel aluminides essentially uniformly distributed in said matrix and having a total volume of 3.5 to 11% of the aluminum-based material volume and a maximum size no larger than 3 μm, with a maximum-to-minimum size ratio no higher than 2, and particles of at least one to the aluminides selected from a group consisting of chromium aluminides and zirconium aluminides, with a total volume of 0.1% to 0.5% of the aluminum-based material.