One of the many industries that benefits from standard and custom extruded aluminum is the lighting fixture industry. Aluminum industry solutions can help to create a long-lasting, durable product that has many advantages over other similar solutions made from different materials. Natural benefits, such as the corrosion resistance of aluminum, can be enhanced through the extrusion process and through experienced methods and techniques applied to design. Silver City Aluminum has been providing our services to clients for many years and it is our goal to provide superior custom aluminum products that will exceed all expectations.
Lighting fixtures can be improved for outdoor and an array of weather and environmental exposures, such as chemical, salt water, and abrasives, by taking advantage of experienced applications. It is possible to further prevent corrosion through design and add secondary operations that enhance the function of the product, such as our option to add heli-coiling in New England for our clients all around the world. Whatever your needs, our team can help you design, extrude, customize and finish the parts, products and assemblies you need to achieve your goals.
Why Extruded Aluminum?
Of all the materials and methods for shaping metal to use with lighting industry fixtures and components, why should you choose to use extruded aluminum? Whether you utilize standard dies or create your own custom extrusion solutions, the extrusion process allows you to create a very extensive selection of shapes and sizes in parts, pieces and products. Aluminum is very light in weight, yet resistant to corrosion and very durable. Its strength to weight ratio blows most other metals out of the running, yet it is versatile enough to be used across many different industries.
Aluminum can be finished in a number of ways as well, including powder coating, anodizing and painting, to further prevent corrosion through design and application. In addition to the lighting industry, there are many different industries that count on aluminum industry solutions. As a metal, aluminum is the number one most recycled metal on the planet and it is 100 percent recyclable, meaning that it can be recycled again and again without losing any of its inherent qualities. This makes aluminum very cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
Some of the other industries that utilize extruded aluminum include:
- automotive and transportation industries – trains, transport trucks, cars and SUVs
- aerospace industry – private planes, commercial planes and the space station
- machinery and industrial equipment – mining, camping and construction equipment
- office furniture – chairs, desks and cubicle framework
- medical equipment and furniture – hospital beds, surgical equipment and more
- architectural and construction industries – structural beams, decorative trim and windows
Secondary Operations
In addition to creating aluminum industry solutions through the standard or custom extrusion process, many manufacturers choose to use extruded aluminum because of its ability to utilize cost-effective secondary operations to further customize parts and components through design. Some of the more popular operations used at Silver City Aluminum include deburring, assembly, CNC fabrication, punching, sawing and heli-coiling in New England for our clients all over the globe. Aluminum is capable of being extruded through an unlimited array of complex profiles to create close-tolerance shapes, reducing the need for additional secondary operations. However, when they are needed, the cost is surprisingly affordable, due to the malleability of aluminum and the ability of the designers and technicians to reduce the required work and to prevent corrosion through design.
The Extrusion Process
When it comes right down to it, it is the extrusion process that helps to make aluminum industry solutions so valuable. Whether the extruded aluminum is created via hot, warm or cold extrusion processing, the act of pushing the aluminum billets through the profile or die using massive amounts of pressure, work to change the abilities of the aluminum material itself. Extrusion makes the aluminum stronger, more durable and increases the ability of the material to stand up to heavy use throughout its lifetime.
Aluminum is frequently extruded into small shapes to be used with medical components or electronics, such as heat-absorbing or dissipating heat sinks. Once a shape has been created through the extrusion process, it is often straightened or brought to the desired circumference through the use of a table stretcher. Then the extruded aluminum can be cut into the lengths or sizes that the client desires before going on to standard secondary operations, such as deburring, to create a polished and perfected piece.
Some manufacturers send the pieces off to sub-contractors to take care of secondary operations or finishing, but Silver City Aluminum does everything in-house at our one-stop-shop to provide our customers with higher quality results and shorter lead times. We find that the more involved we are in the entire process, from the design of custom extrusion dies to the loading and shipping of the finished product, the better we are able to serve our customers and provide them with the best possible experience. Quality is very important to us here at Silver City Aluminum – it is what we have built our reputation on and we work hard to continue perfecting our results.
Contact Silver City Aluminum by calling 508-824-8631. Our team can help you to choose the best options for your aluminum industry solutions and will give you a FREE estimate on any of our services. Whether you want to create your own custom profiles to prevent corrosion through design or if you want to add specialty secondary operations and finishing, such as heli-coiling in New England, our team can help. Call today and get started creating your extruded aluminum parts, components and assemblies for your project right away.