Aluminum Extrusion

A Danterry, Inc. Presentation

By:
Steve Terry
History of Metal
Metal use over the years
Copper used for 7,500 years
Bronze used for 4,000 years
Iron and Steel used for3,000 years
Aluminum used for 120 years

History:
Aluminum in the 1800s
Hans Christian Oersted was the first to
produce the first few drops of Aluminum
in 1808
1869 two tons of Aluminum were
produced
Which dropped the price from $545/lb to $17/lb

History:
Aluminum in the 1800s
Exciting New Metal
Cap on the Washington
Monument
French Court created tableware
A Crown for the King or Denmark
Josephines Cross
Aluminum Cross given to
Josephine by Napoleon

History:
Aluminum in Production

The first commercial batch of Aluminum
was produced on Thanksgiving Day
1888
Production Capabilities Lower Price
Between 1888 and 1893 Aluminum dropped from
$4.86/lb to $.78/lb
History:
Aluminum in Production
Early uses for Aluminum
Cooking utensils
Electrical wire and cable
Foil
Auto bodies
Engine parts used by the Wright Brothers
Aluminum Abundance
3
rd
most abundant element in the
earths crust

47%
8%
28%
5%
12%
Oxygen
Aluminum Oxide / Bauxite

Silicon

Iron

All Others

Aluminum
Production Process:
The Five Steps in the Aluminum Cycle
Recycling
Mining
Refining
Smelting
Fabricating


Process: Recycling
The most valuable material in the
waste stream
Over 66 billion cans were recycled last year
85-95% of Aluminum in cars is recycled



Process: Recycling
Recycling uses 5% of the energy of
producing Aluminum from ore
To produce one pop can it takes roughly .5kwh,
which is enough energy to run a laptop for 11hrs
The 66 billion cans recycled last year is equivalent
to 181.5 billion extra hours on a laptop
181.5kwh = $5,478,000,000
Process: Mining
Bauxite is an ore rich in Aluminum
Oxide (Al2O3)
Mined in Tropical regions of the World
The production on aluminum consumes 90% of
global bauxite mined
Process: Refining
Bauxite is turned into Aluminum Oxide
Bauxite is ground and mixed with lime and caustic
soda
It is then heated in a high-pressure container
What is left is Aluminum Oxide
Process: Smelting
Aluminum Oxide turns to Aluminum
Smelting is the process in which an electrolytic
reduction turn Aluminum Oxide (Alumina) into
Aluminum

(Aluminum Oxide)
Process
Billet
Molten aluminum is formed into billet
Billet is an aluminum log
Process: Fabrication

Aluminum is
Transformed into
Products
First the Aluminum is
Alloyed
Metal is added to give
specific design
characteristics



Types of Fabrication
Casting
Rolling
Forging
Drawing
Extruding
Extrusion Press
Extrusion Press
Main Cylinder
Produces Pressure

Dummy Block
Seals billet and prevents
leakage

Extrusion Press





Tool Stack
Solid Die
die ring
die, backer,
bolster,
sub-bolster

Hollow die:
ring
die mandrel
die cap
Bolster
sub-bolster


Extruding:
Billet to the Die
Aluminum billet is heated to 800-925F
Different alloys have different optimal performance temps
6063 930 F
6061 950 F
Billet is transferred to the loader
A thin layer of lubricant is added to the billet and ram to
prevent the two parts from sticking together
Billet is transferred to the cradle
Ram applies pressure to the dummy block and moves the
billet into the container
Extruding:
From the Die

Under extreme pressure the billet is
crushed against the die
Dummy Press
Billet
Extruding:
From the Die
Billet becomes plastic in form
Billet squeezes through the opening(s) in the die
creating the extruded shape
While the Aluminum is being extruded
the temps are monitored closely to
maintain optimal performance temps
Liquid nitrogen flows around some parts of the die
to keep cool, which prevents oxides from forming
on the die and altering the shape of the extrusion
Extrusion Press
Dies

Extruding:
From the Die
Not all the billet can be used
The process leaves an Oxide
rich skin which is discarded
Sagittal Section of Billet and Die
Extruding From the Die
Extruding:
From the Die
Aluminum is lead down a run out table
While being cooled by fans or various other
methods to bring back down to room temperature
Post Extrusion
Cooling Table
Stretching and Straightening
Re-aligns molecules and increases strength and hardness
Called Work Hardening
Work Hardening: mechanical deformation of metal or alloy at
temperatures below those at which recrystallization occurs.
Cold worked metal may be brought back to the original state of
workability by proper annealing.
Sawing
Extrusions cut to length


Basic Temper Designations
F-- As fabricated: produces a wide variety of
strengths which can vary from lot to lot
O-- Annealed: thermal treatments to reduce
mechanical properties (dead soft metal)
W-- Solution Heat-treated: after heat treating
metal spontaneously age hardens (7XXX)
H-- Strain-hardened: cold working
T-- Thermally treated to produce tempers
other that F, O or H. Multiple subdivisions
Subdivisions of T temper
Some apply only to specific alloy or processes
T1-- Cooled from an elevated temperature and
naturally aged
T2-- Cooled from an elevated temperature,
cold worked and naturally aged
T3-- Solution heat-treated, cold worked and
naturally aged
T4-- Solution heat-treated and naturally aged
T5-- Cooled from an elevated temperature and
artificially aged (T1+ artificial aging)
Subdivisions of T tempers
T6-- Solution heat-treated and artificially aged
(T4+ artificial aging)
T7-- Solution heat-treating and
overaged / stabilized
Thermally overaging carries aluminum past its maximum
strength to control for special characteristics
T8-- Solution heat-treated, cold worked and
artificially aged
T9-- Solution heat-treated, artificially aged and
cold worked
T10-- Cooled from elevated temperature, cold worked
and aged artificially (usually cast products)

Extrusion Ratio
Extrusion Ratio = Area of billet / area of shape
A clear indication of the amount of mechanical working
that will occur as the shape is extruded
Low extrusion ratios have little mechanical work
hardening performed on it
High extrusion ratios have more mechanical work
hardening

Factors Affecting Extruding
Factors Affecting Extruding
Difficulty is called
Factor
Factor = Perimeter of
Shape / Weight per
foot
Used to determine
parts extrusion
performance
A high factor
indicates a difficult
shape

Very large perimeter with very low
weight
Factors Affecting Extruding
Tongue Ratio
Higher the ratio the more difficult the part
Calculate the square the smallest opening to the void,
calculate the total area of the shape, and then divide the
opening squared by the area

Post Production
Testing Mechanical Properties
Tensile: Maximum pulling load before failure
(snap)
Yield: The stress at which a specific parameter set
is exhibited
Elongation: The maximum stretch before failure
Rockwell Penetration Test: A hardness test based
on skin penetration under fixed conditions