Aluminum Extrusions' Impact on Modern Manufacturing

Metals and Mining Review | Monday, November 20, 2023

Aluminum extrusions are versatile components used in assembly lines, construction, and various applications due to their strength, durability, and adaptability.

FREMONT, CA: When manufacturers are seeking to transform or upgrade their assembly lines, aluminum extrusions are often an essential application. Easily installed and disassembled, these components are used in custom-built structures, machine guards, workstations, and material handling systems. Modular aluminum extrusions can be adapted to enhance almost any machine, from enabling machine manufacturers to gradually automate to forming key components of systems integration companies.

Through the extrusion process, aluminum is enhanced in its strength properties—the resulting products are much stronger and more durable and can be shaped and sized in various ways. Construction is a key application of aluminum extrusion products, but structural aluminum components are also used in marine applications, automotive applications, and industrial machining processes. By extruding different molten materials, such as metals or plastic, at high pressures, they can be shaped by being pushed through shaped designs. As a result of the process's flexibility, it is possible to perform it either hot or cold and continuously or semi-continuously.

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Despite the higher cost of structural aluminum extrusion applications over alternatives such as steel tubes, they are faster to manufacture and ultimately more cost-effective as labor costs are reduced. Extrusion costs are limited to die molding, materials, and manpower, so a manufacturer investing in the press will benefit from long-term use since it can be equipped with various dies. It is important to note that the price of steel dies varies, but more intricate and precise dies can be quite expensive.

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