Why You Should Trust Aluminium Extrusions
Aluminium is arguably among the most abundant minerals we have on earth. While this mineral typically never appears in its pure form naturally, it gets derived from bauxite, a mineral that is quite available all over the world. However, it wasn’t until the year 1888 that economically feasible processes were discovered for commercially producing aluminium. Generally, aluminium and its extrusions, in particular, provide us with plenty of benefits, especially compared to other materials. Below, we look at why aluminium extrusions are very important to us.
Relative to most other materials, aluminium extrusions are very lightweight. Compared to materials such as copper, steel, brass or iron, aluminium is roughly one third their weight. This property alone makes aluminium extrusions relatively inexpensive to ship, easier to handle and overall a very suitable material for use in areas where minimising overall weight is a key priority e.g. in moving parts or during transportation.
Aluminium extrusions are also surprisingly very strong, and can be modified to be as strong as required for numerous applications. Additionally, due to the specific nature of its extrusions process, the strength of various aluminium extrusions can be concentrated specifically where it matters most e.g. via internal reinforcement in the aluminium’s profile design or by adding various wall thicknesses. Aluminium extrusions are particularly well-suited for cold-weather applications, since the material gets stronger the more temperature falls.
Aluminium as a material has a good strength to weight ratio. Aluminium extrusions have the unique ability to combine high-strength and low weight, making them the perfect material for applications such as bridges, truck trailers and aerospace where carrying loads is of high importance.
Aluminium extrusions are very resilient, combining impressive strength and flexibility. In most instances, it is capable of flexing under significant loads and springing back to good condition, following the shock of any impact. This makes them particularly suitable for applications such as automotive crash management systems and much more.
Compared to other materials such as iron, aluminium extrusions have very good resistance to corrosion. While some metals used in making handles for furniture are very susceptible to corrosion, aluminium isn’t all thanks to its surface being protected by a naturally occurring Oxide file. In addition to this, natural protection can be enhanced even further through finishing processes such as anodising.
Extrusions made from alumina are neither non-magnetic, non-toxic and noncombustible. Since aluminium hardly ever requires magnetic charges, extrusions can be particularly useful during instances of high-voltage, and where electronics are involved, since magnetic fields are an unavoidable phenomenon. Also, aluminium is not susceptible to burning, and even during extremely high temperatures, it will never produce toxic fumes.
The seamless nature of aluminium extrusions makes them capable of producing various complex shapes, that only require using one-piece extruded sections of aluminium. It is also worth mentioning that these sections hardly need any mechanical joining. The resulting profile is usually stronger than other comparable assemblies. This makes your aluminium extrusions less likely to leak or loosen over time.