Reasons For Using Aluminum Extrusions By Dave Lavoie At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Extruded aluminium is a popular and useful material in the construction, and other, industries, and is renowned for its light weight and inherent strength, as well as its ease of use in a number of different ways.

It is also a fact that the very nature of the method of manufacture – extrusion – is a bonus in terms of the properties of extruded aluminium.

The process involves forcing heated aluminum – at its most pliable – through a specially shaped die, giving it the specific shape that we can see in the construction of glass houses, for instance, or some window frames.

Accurate and cost effective

Extrusion produces a very accurate match across the entire length of the extrusion, and any extra pieces, and with very little wastage, thus adding to the cost efficiency of the process.

To have an extruding die made should amount to a few hundred dollars, whereas other methods of forming shaped metals can require forms or casts that cost thousands. In addition, the extruding die can be used a number of times, as it has a long shelf life. This has led to many manufacturers offering standard shapes of extrusion, often at significantly lower cost, thanks to them having a pre-formed die to that shape already in stock.

If it is a specific shape that is required, not only does the process itself add to the benefits of extruded aluminium, bit the metal has a number of qualities that make it very attractive and equally versatile in many different uses.

Light but strong

For instance, aluminum is known for its light weight, particularly in relation to other popular metals such as steel and copper that are over twice as heavy. This does not take away from its inherent strength, however, for aluminum is very efficient in terms of strength to weight.

Aluminum also conducts electricity very efficiently indeed – twice the rate of copper, for example – and thus offers a lightweight alternative where electrical conductivity is a factor.

An aluminum extrusion can also be shaped very easily – made to bend, for instance – and without the need for specialist applications; this can be specifically enhanced at the manufacturing stage by asking for a thickness of aluminum that will aid the possibility of manipulation.

Furthermore, the properties of extruded aluminium allow it to be joined very neatly and efficiently, too, as not only is it easy to drill – giving nuts and bolts, and rivets an easy ride – but it can be welded and soldered, too, and the accuracy of the extrusion itself makes joining two identical pieces easier still.

There are many uses for extruded aluminium – it has been, and is, used in almost every form of industry across the globe – and with added heat reflecting, or absorbing, properties, and the ability to be coloured in a variety of different ways for added effect, it is easy to see why this strong but light metal has taken on a life of its own, especially in extruded form.

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