The Four Key Specs That Must Be Considered When Chooseing Aluminum Extrusion Design

The Five Areas of Consideration

Before you finalize the design for your custom aluminum extrusion, you will need to consider these four areas of your specifications. Each one plays a important part at the final success of your finished aluminum product. The four areas that we will be discussing include the alloy and temper, thickness of the wall, tolerances, corner radii and the final area of consideration, post extrusion finishing.

Step One: Choosing an Alloy Based on Performance

There are many different aluminum alloys to choose from when working with aluminum extrusion design. The first concern you shoud to consider is the temper and performance. Some of the most common types of aluminum alloys used in custom aluminum extrusion include:

7075 – This alloy is very difficult to extrude and results in a very poor finish on the surface. As a result, it is mainly used in structural components of aircraft and has a very high mechanical strength.

3003 – On the opposite end of the spectrum, 3003 is very easy to extrude, which makes it an excellent choice for heat transfer applications. Due to its easy extrusion abilities, it has a very low mechanical strength.

6063 – Not as easy to extrude as 3003, 6063 is still an easy choice for custom aluminum extrusion. While it does have a low mechanical strength, it has an excellent surface finish, making it a popular choice for windows, doors and trim.

6061 – Closer to 7075 in terms of being difficult to extrude, 6061 has a much more acceptable looking surface finish, making it a great choice for a wide variety of different industrial applications. It machines well and has a moderate mechanical strength.

Step two: Uniform wall thickness of the aluminum frame is very important to ensure no twist or bend for the finished frame.

Step three: Tolerance is very important to make sure the final frame could match your windows and doors.

Step four: It is very important to make sure the corner raddi bigger than 0.005 inch.

Article revised and reference from Silver City Aluminum Website