American Elements is at the forefront of developing new and innovative materials used in professional and recreational sports. We produce special metals, alloys and composites to meet the need of activities where lightness and strength make the difference between winning and losing, including high purity titanium, magnesium alloys and scandium-aluminum alloy for racing cycles, baseball bats and boat fittings. We also supply carbon fiber sheets for fabricating parts.

Question? Speak to an American Elements engineer at sports@americanelements.com

Innovation Case Study #6: American Elements Supplies Scandium/Aluminum Alloy to Sports Equipment Manufacturers

#6: American Elements Supplies Scandium/Aluminum Alloy to Sports Equipment Manufacturers


The Challenge

High performance alloys have long been utilized in aerospace and defense applications. However, it wasn’t until this century that manufacturers of sports and leisure equipment began to consider using high technology light metal alloys in their products.

The Innovation

American Elements produces numerous lightweight alloys for aerospace and in 1999 began marketing the material to bicycle manufacturers as a replacement for titanium. We focused on the introduction of aluminum doped with scandium. The addition of small amounts of scandium (3% by weight) doubles the strength of aluminum without impacting its lightness.

The Result

Today many bicycle manufacturers have adopted scandium/aluminum alloy in their frames. The material has caught on with the sports equipment industry and now baseball bats are also produced from the material.
Below is merely a selection of the full catalog of Sports Equipment products that American Elements manufactures. If you do not see a material you're looking for listed, please search the website or contact customerservice@americanelements.com.