Ordering an aluminum profile

AEC Webinars: From Pro to Pro

A source of valuable information are the webinars of the American Aluminum Extruders Council - The Aluminum Extruders Council. The purpose of these webinars is to reveal to engineers, constructors, designers, as well as managers and marketers huge possibilities of extruded aluminum profiles in construction and design, in the automotive industry, in household and sports goods.

Experienced professionals in their field - technologists and material scientists, designers and production managers share their secrets:

• How to construct a profile, so that its production is as cheap and optimal as possible?

• What is "good" and what is "bad" in design aluminum profile?

• What elements need to be laid in an aluminum profile, so that it can perform its functions as optimally as possible?

• What benefits can be obtained, if you replace parts made of traditional materials, for example, steel, on parts made of aluminum alloys?

Aluminum - material and philosophy

Aluminum as a material and aluminum extrusion as a process offer unique properties and technological capabilities to product designers for various markets. A deep understanding of the unique capabilities of aluminum alloys and the extrusion process - the philosophy of aluminum - opens up boundless spaces for the designer for creativity and creation of new solutions for all areas of human activity.

• How to use the unique properties of aluminum to develop new products?

• What can different aluminum alloys and their variants give to the designer?

• What are the benefits of using more complex profile designs?

• What effective technologies are used when working with aluminum?

All about the possibilities of structural aluminum

These and other issues were discussed at the last webinar from 4 November 2016 of the year, which was organized by one of the leaders in the aluminum industry - by SAPA corporation.

Webinar topic: Leveraging Aluminum’s Attributes for Effective Extruded Solutions

This one-hour webinar provides a visual and detailed overview of the many nuances of aluminum profile manufacturing., a, the main thing, emphasizes all the advantages of aluminum as a material and extrusion as a technology to achieve the most effective results when developing new aluminum profiles.

Focus of the report – three main levers for finding new solutions:

• selection of aluminum alloy,
• product geometry and
• production technology.

The choices in these three areas have been illustrated with numerous case studies across different areas and market niches..

After this webinar, you begin to better understand:

• possible solutions for the use of extruded profiles in a wide variety of products;
• possibilities and limitations of various aluminum alloys;
• techniques for designing effective aluminum profiles with minimal costs for their production.

Below we present some excerpts from this webinar., which were especially helpful to us. You may like other.

In addition to acquiring technical knowledge, there is also another benefit – natural spoken English on familiar technical topics. English is never superfluous for a true professional!

Below we present the first part of the review of this webinar..

We are all extruders!

We are all ourselves, with children or grandchildren - at least once, but were extruders. Plasticine extruders (figure 1). This simple plastic machine simulates and explains the basic principles of pressing: solid and hollow profiles, solid and combined matrices, workpiece quality, pressing speed and the like

Figure 1 - Plasticine extrusion

Aluminum extrusion

When extruding aluminum, the essence of the process remains the same - to push the soft material through the specified holes (Figure 2).

Figure 2- Aluminum extrusion

However, in fact, aluminum extrusion is a difficult and multifactorial process. To obtain aluminum profiles of a given shape with a good surface and high strength, complex equipment is used., which includes not only a powerful and high-precision extrusion press, but also several ovens, drank, roller tables and conveyors (figure 3).

Figure 3 - Extrusion line for aluminum profiles

In the aging furnace (figure 4) profiles from thermally hardened aluminum alloys, for example, 6060 and 6063, reach the specified state of the material - specified mechanical and other properties. These states are indicated by letters and numbers., for example, T5, T6, T66.

Figure 4 - Aging oven

Three important technological steps

When the specified mechanical properties of the aluminum profile are achieved, the following three technological operations have a very important effect (see. Figure 3):

• №1 – The temperature of the metal when passing through the matrix must have a temperature, which is sufficient for the complete dissolution of all alloying elements in aluminum
• №2 – After the profile leaves the matrix, it should receive sufficiently intensive cooling., to keep Mg2Si particles in a solid solution of aluminum and, in the same time, avoid excessive warping of the profile (figure 5)
• №3 – The profile to undergo a complete artificial aging for the growth and release of hardening precipitates based on Mg2Si (see. Figure 4).

Figure 5 – Hardening of an aluminum profile on a press

Aluminum for innovation:

• light weight
• strength
• high strength / weight ratio
• elasticity
• corrosion resistance
• electrical conductivity
• non-magnetic
• does not spark
• incombustible
• durable in the cold
• complete recycling after service life

Extrusion benefits:

• metal there, where is it needed
• complex thin-walled shapes
• attractive view, color spectrum
• lack of seams
• minimum porosity
• ease of processing
• many ways for connections
• precise assembly of many elements
• uniform quality of the entire batch of products
• favorable for the price
• quick launch into production

The advantages of aluminum in structures and products

Military mobile bridge

• Modular bridge, which is transported by truck or helicopter (figure 6)
• 10-12 soldiers assemble and install in an hour and a half
• 18 meters of the bridge can withstand light vehicles and 130 soldier
• Aluminum alloy 6061-T6 and 6005-T6; without welding, only studs and bolts

Figure 6 - Army mobile aluminum bridge

Aluminum heat exchanger radiators

Extruded aluminum radiators (picture 7) Are ideal heat exchangers for vehicles, lighting and electronic equipment:

• cheaper manufacturing
• high specific heat transfer
• thin walls
• built-in cavities
• minimum porosity

All this gives them clear advantages over competitors - cast heat exchangers.

Figure 7

Radiators for Automotive LED Lights

Extruded aluminum radiators for automotive LED lighting (picture 8):

• Aluminium alloy 6360
• language parameters: 11:1
• bending with tension in the T4 state

Figure 8- Radiators for Automotive LED Lights

Functions of aluminum profiles

Figure 9 - Functional elements of aluminum profiles

Popular aluminum alloys

The figure 10 aluminum alloys popular among designers are presented. The volume of aluminum profiles from these alloys is the overwhelming majority in comparison with other aluminum alloys.

Figure 10 - Popular aluminum alloys for innovative projects

Sources:
SAPA Corporation Webinar 4 November 2016 years on the AEC website
AEC Webinars