If your business venture involves the supply and sale of custom-made aluminium parts, you may be considering the best way to actually manufacture these items. It may be crucial for these parts to be engineered to a very precise specification and you may need a large quantity with minimal wastage. As always, the cost will be a major consideration and given all your requirements, you may want to consider something other than the traditional stamp press approach. What solution can tick all the right boxes for you, be the most practical and guarantee the least amount of wastage?
Stamp Press and Wastage
Traditionally, the precise fabrication of aluminium required a stamp press to be used. However, this approach would waste a lot of the raw material, as the aluminium was forced through the press itself. This "wastage" would often need to be retreated and remoulded, before being set through the production line again to create new products. This was not only time-consuming but very expensive when you take into consideration the cost of the raw material itself.
Extrusion Benefits
However, a much more efficient process has become the approach of choice for aluminium fabricators. Extrusion involves forcing the substance into a press that has specific apertures cut from it. The dimensions of the aperture closely mirror your required finished product. However, in this case, a long extension of the product known as a "profile" will be created, which will be similar in appearance to a long bar. Once this long piece of aluminium has been produced it can then be cut down into segments, to come up with the actual product required.
How It Works
In order for this to be achieved without a lot of wastage, the aluminium is "force-fed" into a holding chamber or container and pressure is applied from the rear, to slowly fill up all the spaces within that container. With continued pressure, the aluminium is then forced through the small aperture into the die, which shapes it into the proper dimensions.
The process does require the aluminium to be heated up to a certain temperature so that it is malleable but not so much that it is compromised structurally. In so doing, the aluminium is tempered and this can be beneficial in making it ready for use in certain other industrial processes. After the extrusion process is complete, the aluminium is cooled down using specific techniques.
Your Application
With this quick and simple process, your business can achieve its objectives with minimum waste and a high degree of precision. Looking for more information on aluminium fabrications? Click here!
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