Aluminium Extrusion Profile and Process – Basics Explained

Aluminium extrusion is the process through which the aluminium is pushed forcibly through a series of dies for creating desired shapes. Aluminium is the most abundant element of the metal group that can be found in the earth’s crust. The raw form in which it is found in the earth’s surface is known as Bauxite, an alloy made up of aluminum, oxygen and other metals and elements. The most common misperception about it is that it is not a pure metal, but an alloy. In reality, it is a pure metal. There are many advantages of Aluminium Extrusion and they are:

• It is such a metal which is comparatively light weighted. If compared with other metals like Ag or Cu, it’s weight is one third of them.
• The tensile strength of Aluminum is almost close to that of steel. In terms od PSI strength, it is 90,000 PSI.
• This metal is highly efficient in term of strength to weight ratio. Its strength to weight ration has been found to be extremely high, which means that it is highly efficient.
• The other qualities of Aluminum consist of resistance to corrosion, highly reflective, high conductivity to electricity, non-brittleness during excessive cold, non-combustible and many more. Some of the other advantageous features of this metal are durability, versatility, flexibility, consistency, malleability, etc.

In order to get high quality, some aspects are there that are needed to be maintained for defect free extrusion. Some of these important points for aluminium extrusion is given below:

• To analyze the alloy of Aluminum, a modern and specialized instrument called Direct Reading Optical Emission Spectrometer is used. What is the utility of this check-up? The most important utility lies in close tolerance of the composition with the metal, Aluminum. This test helps in judging the effectiveness of achieving most desirable mechanical properties.
• The logs used for them are essentially homogenized before pre-heating them. This is done for achieving improved finishing and superior quality. • The latest computerized equipments should be used for manufacturing tool and dies. Some of these upgraded equipments are Spark Erosion Machines, Jig Boring Machines, CNC equipments (several of them) and Wire Cut Machines.
• These extrusion profile needs to have uniform properties. In order to achieve this, a special kind of process is carried out. This process is known as Ageing. According to this, a special kind of thermal treatment is done. This process involves a specialized oven where air is blown at high velocity at controlled temperature.
• Aluminium extrusion profile that is created through the entire process is then subjected to checking, involving inspection and measurement. This process of dimension checking is done through an automatic system called ROMIDOT.
• These profiles that are produced through the entire process written above is then subjected to proper handling through a conveyor system. This conveyor system is essentially PLC controlled. This process continues until the aluminium extrusion materials get packed.