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Aluminium Extrusion Profiles

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CUSTOM PROFILES

Aluminium extrusion is an industrial forming process that is used to produce long profiles of a constant cross-section. This cross-section is shaped by the opening in a steel tool known as a die.

Knowing where and how to make minor tweaks and changes will yield significant benefits, not only in extrudability but also with manufacturing and production costs too.

FUNCTION

It may seem obvious but understanding the function of your profile is key to it’s form and fit being successful in its end use.

When designing a profile for extrusion, it’s not just the overall look that needs to be considered, you also need to consider what you want the part to be able to do once produced.

Solid profiles are typically the easiest to extrude as they are usually the least complex.

You can produce a variety of forms with a solid profile as long as it’s cross-section doesn’t have any voids.

A Semihollow profile is defined by it’s tongue ratio as it partially encloses a void. A semihollow profile will be defined mathematically by comparing the area of the partially enclosed void to the size of the gap (to the mathematical square of the gap size). If that ratio is larger than a pre-defined number, the shape is classified as semi-hollow; if the ratio is smaller, the shape is considered a solid.

Hollow profiles contain a void or maybe even multiple voids on a single profile.

This is the most basic description of these three categories, there are other factors which need to be taken into consideration when deciding whether your profile is one of the above shapes.

The less complex and easier to extrude a profile is, the more likely it will cost less than a profile that is complex and that will take longer to go through the extrusion process

FEATURES

Increased profile complexity ultimately raises the overall cost as it can reduce production speed and cause other complications such as die failure and extended quality control. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to create a complex profile, these are just considerations to make before committing to the cost of your die being produced and your profile going through the manufacturing process.

Although there are many considerations to take into account, designing with aluminium gives you a lot of freedom with creativity and infinite opportunities of shapes and extrusions.