Aluminum 2397 rounds out the low-magnesium branch of the third-generation Al-Cu-Li family alongside 2197 and 2297, sharing nearly identical copper, lithium, and manganese ranges but tuned for sheet product rather than extrusions or forgings. The alloying strategy is consistent across this sub-family: keep magnesium low and manganese modest to reduce quench sensitivity and improve dimensional consistency through heat treatment, while copper and lithium do the work of building strength and cutting density, respectively. A small, deliberately controlled zinc addition rounds out the composition.

Because 2397 is generally supplied as sheet, it's associated with fuselage skin and other formed structural panels where a good balance of strength, low density, and fracture toughness is needed over a large service life. Like the rest of the low-magnesium 2xxx Al-Li sub-family, it was developed to behave predictably through solution heat treatment and aging even as section thickness and cooling rate vary across a part, which matters for maintaining consistent mechanical properties across a large sheet or panel. On the shop floor, 2397 handles like other Al-Cu-Li sheet alloys — soft, fast-cutting, but with lithium's characteristic effect on chip abrasiveness and reactivity to keep in mind.

2397 machines the way most heat-treated 2xxx sheet aluminum does: low forces, clean shear, and a strong preference for high spindle speeds over the conservative, force-limited cuts used on steel. Because it's mostly encountered as sheet or thin plate for skins and formed panels, typical shop work leans toward face milling, trimming, drilling, and fixture machining rather than heavy stock removal from bar or billet.

The lithium content brings the same family-wide considerations: somewhat harder, more abrasive age-hardening precipitates than plain copper-strengthened aluminum, which can translate into faster-than-expected tool wear if speeds are pushed without checking results, and chips or fine dust that are more chemically reactive than ordinary aluminum swarf. Good chip and dust management, especially on dry operations, is a sensible baseline practice for any Al-Li alloy.

Because thin sheet and formed panel sections are easy to deflect under cutting load, workholding and fixture rigidity typically have more influence on finish quality than the cutting parameters themselves. Sharp, positive, polished tooling and light, consistent depths of cut deliver the best results on 2397 sheet stock.