Aluminum is like playdough for industrial professionals. The durable, lightweight alloy transforms into many products used in design, fabrication, shipping, and CNC machining. Because of its remarkable strength-to-weight ratio, aluminum tempers and finishes assist aerospace manufacturers with creating and designing modernized aircraft capable of flying faster and longer. A civil engineer depends on cross-sectional, aluminum extrusion shapes to construct bridges that stand the test of time. What exactly is the nature of these impressive outputs, standard and custom?
Extrusion Shapes and Benefits
Standard shapes include bars, corners, rods, hex, tube and pipe. These come in a range of sizes, can withstand varying tolerances, and perform very well under immense stress. Specialty firms make use of customized formats like extruded manifold quality bars, a plus-side only, cost-saving material. One of the best ways to amortize costs across projects, and keep more profit, is to make repeat use of custom dies.
Extruded Alloy 6061 and 6063
Heat treatable, 6000 series alloys 6061 and 6063; and they’re well-suited for the extrusion process. When it comes to producing aluminum extrusion shapes, these two types are practically ubiquitous among manufacturers and producers. Unlike the low-strength 1000 series, the 6000 set possesses high thermal properties. Corrosion resistance is another one of the alloy’s prominent characteristics.
Between the two, 6063 is the most popular option due to its elemental composition and malleability. Magnesium and silicon complement the aluminum alloy in 6063, giving way to increased tensile strength, shape complexity, and high melting temperature.
