What Is The aluminum profile?

Aluminum alloy profiles(aluminum extrusions) are made of aluminum-based alloys with a certain amount of other alloying elements added by extrusion. The aluminum extrusions forming process is a bulk plastic deformation process, they are carried out with dies and two temperature conditions, hot or cold.
Hot extrusion method: First, a billet of aluminum is preheated to a specified temperature that is still comfortably below the aluminum melting point to facilitate the plastic flow of the aluminum. The heated aluminum billet is then forced through a tooling die that is designed to shape and form the aluminum billet into the corresponding profile cross-section.
The cold extrusion method involves cooling the material at room temperature to pass through a die, allowing it to acquire specific profile shapes.

Products of aluminum extrusion shapes have considerable stability and strength, particularly when alloyed with metals such as magnesium and silicon. So the aluminum profiles are durable for industrial use for building machines, solid structures, and automation, or for civil uses such as building doors, windows, and lamps, such as production lines, door frames, window sections, building railings, vehicles(panels, anti-collision beam, roof rails).

Aluminum alloy

An alloy based on aluminum with a certain amount of other alloying elements added is one of the light metal materials. In addition to the general characteristics of aluminum, aluminum alloys also have specific characteristics of some alloys due to the different types and quantities of alloying elements added.

The density of aluminum alloy is 2.63-2.85g/cm3, it has high strength (σb is 110-650MPa), its specific strength is close to that of high-alloy steel, its specific stiffness exceeds that of steel, it has good casting performance and plastic processing performance, and good electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance, and weldability, can be used as structural materials and has a wide range of applications in aerospace, aviation, transportation, construction, electromechanical, light and daily necessities.

Two Types of Aluminum Alloys

Aluminum alloys are divided into wrought aluminum alloys and cast aluminum alloys according to their composition and processing methods.

• The deformed aluminum alloy is first melted and cast into an ingot from the alloy components, and then processed by plastic deformation. Various plastic processed products are made by rolling, extrusion, stretching, forging, and other methods.
  Deformed aluminum alloy profiles are semi-finished aluminum alloys such as tubes, rods, wires, and profiles made by various pressure processing methods. According to its users, it can be divided into five categories: anti-corrosion aluminum alloy, super duralumin, special aluminum, duralumin, and wrought aluminum
• Cast aluminum alloys are blanks that are directly cast into various parts by sand molds, iron molds, investment molds, and die-casting methods after the ingredients are smelted.
  Aluminum alloy castings are aluminum alloys used to directly cast mechanical parts of various shapes. According to the different main elements added, it can be divided into Al-Si alloy, Al-Zn alloy, and Al-Mg alloy. Each system has its grade and is more complicated.

Application

Aluminum alloy has the characteristics of low density, good mechanical properties, good processing performance, non-toxic, easy to recycle, good electrical conductivity, heat transfer, and corrosion resistance, etc. It is widely used in the marine industry, chemical industry, aerospace, metal packaging, transportation, etc. widely used in the field.

Three steps in the production process of aluminum profiles

Steps 1#: Casting

Melting and casting is the first process of aluminum production, the main process is:

• Ingredients: According to the specific alloy grades that need to be produced, calculate the additional amount of various alloy components, and reasonably match various raw materials.
• Smelting: Add the prepared raw materials into the melting furnace for melting according to the process requirements, and effectively remove the impurities and gases in the melt by means of degassing and slag removal refining.
• Casting: Under certain casting process conditions, the smelted aluminum liquid is cooled and cast into round cast rods of various specifications through the deep well casting system.

Steps 2#: Extrusion

Extrusion is a means of profile forming. First, design and manufacture the mold according to the cross-section of the profile product, and use the extruder to extrude the heated round cast rod from the mold.
The commonly used grade 6063 alloy also uses an air-cooled quenching process and a subsequent artificial aging process during extrusion to complete heat treatment strengthening. Different grades of heat-treatable strengthening alloys have different heat treatment systems.

Steps 3#: Surface Treatment/Oxidation

Oxidation: Extruded aluminum alloy profiles have poor surface corrosion resistance, and surface treatment must be performed through anodic oxidation to increase the corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and appearance of the aluminum profile.

Advantages of Aluminum Profiles

• Excellent conductors of heat and cold;
• Lightweight and stable;
• Naturally occurring oxide coating( powder coating, painting, and anodizing;
• Non-magnetic makes them viable for high-voltage applications;
• Non-sparking nature makes them a safe option when used in explosive circumstances.
• Optimized designs: aluminum profiles and components can be designed to integrate additional features;
• Environmentally friendly and utterly recyclable.

Applications of aluminum profiles

• Automobile Industries: panels, anti-collision beams, roof rails, etc.
• Heat Conduction: Aluminum material is very efficient at conducting heat and as such it is commonly used in heating and cooling devices.
• Corrosion Resistant: One of the optimum characteristics of aluminum is its natural corrosion resistance without the need for additional surface treatment.
• Construction Industry: Shed and trailer construction often uses lightweight extruded aluminum guide rails and paneling, and is also used for elements in other, denser structures as well.
• Architectural: The various architectural applications that utilize aluminum extrusions include balustrades and railings, bleachers, building façades, interior accents, building door and window frames, and light lamps.
• The aluminum profile is highly useful for applications that involve magnetic fields, sensitive magnetic devices, or high voltage.