3. Presentation Agenda Simmal Ltd – company history The extrusion process Ideas taking shape Advantages of aluminium Advantages of aluminium extrusions Design solutions Case studies Why focus on innovation? Questions and answers How to contact us?
4. Simmal Ltd – Company History Founded in 1986 The early years How did we get here?
5. In the begining Founded in 1986 with the current Chairman’s redundancy money. Today we are a second generation family business with significant cash reserves, trading positively cash generative turning in excess of £10 million per year
6. Simmal Ltd – Company History Why are we here tonight? Two reasons. One we eat sleep and breath all things aluminium. Secondly we don’t have a product, so need people far more intelligent than us to design and specify the next generation of aluminium products
7. The extrusion process Requires three basic elements: 1 - An Extrusion Press/Ram 2 - Aluminium Billets 3 - An Extrusion Die
8. The extrusion process The Extrusion Press comes in many different sizes, such as: 4” 1000 tonne press 7” 2400 tonne press 24” 5000 tonne press 36” 12000 tonne press
9. The extrusion process The size of the press determines the size of the extrusion that can be made
10. The extrusion process Billets or logs come in a variation of diameters and lengths to suite the press. So for example a 9 press will use 9” diameter billet. Aluminium by nature is a soft and weak metal, which therefore needs to be alloyed in order to produce a usable extrusion. We focus mainly on the 6000 series of alloys here in the UK which includes as it’s main alloying elements, Mg ( Magnesium) Si (Silicon) Cu (Copper) Ti (Titanium) Mn (Manganese) All of the 6000 series alloys have their unique properties. The 2 main alloys here in the UK are 6082, which is the hardest of all of the 6000 series alloys and is used for engineering products, and 6063 which is the high surface quality alloy good for painting and anodising and is used for architectural and building products. Aluminium extrusions can come in different tempers. T6 Fully age hardened T5 Semi age hardened T4 Un aged F Very soft O Annealed age hardened and then softened. ( Not common in extrusions)
12. The extrusion process There are two main types of dies. Solid or flat face die used to produce shapes such as angles, channels, flat bars etc etc, or basically any extrusion which does not require a hole any where in the shape. A porthole die is used to produce hollow sections - for tubes or any extrusion with a hole in the profile.
15. The extrusion process Other parts of the process: Quenching. Stretching Cutting Ageing Packing
16. Ideas taking shape An idea takes shape in the designer’s mind and then takes shape as a final product All thanks to the amazing versatility of aluminum extrusion
42. Only about one-third as heavy as iron, steel, copper or brass. Thus, in applications where volume remains the same regardless of metal used, aluminum goes about three times as far as the other metals.
83. Excellent corrosion resistance in a wide variety of environments and contact with a myriad of substances. It develops its own inert aluminum oxide film, which is self-protective, blocking further oxidation
122. Volume for volume, aluminum carries electricity about 62% as well as copper. On an equal weight basis, aluminum can be twice as conductive as copper, and aluminum is often the most economical choice.
148. Even though it is an excellent electrical conductor, aluminum does not produce sparks. This is an essential property for products used with highly flammable or explosive materials and atmospheres
175. Advantages of Aluminum Extrusions Attractive Suitable for a wide range of finishes Virtually seamless Easy to fabricate Joinable by various method Suitable for easy-assembly designs Suitable for complex, integral shapes Produced to close tolerances Produced with uniform quality Cost-effective
176.
177. Aluminum’s natural metallic surface is aesthetically pleasing. The natural protective oxide coating can be thickened by anodizing for extra protection, with additional appearance benefits.
199. Aluminum extrusions, even tubes and other hollow shapes, have no mechanically joined seams which could loosen, leak, mar appearance or reduce strength. They are one-piece products, both visually and functionally
221. Aluminum extrusions can be joined to other aluminum products or to different materials by all major methods, including welding, soldering, brazing, bolts, rivets, chips, adhesives, clinching and slide-on, snap-together or interlocking joints.
254. Tight tolerances are routine and the ability of aluminum extruders to meet even more critical dimensions is keeping pace with advances in technology.
265. This reliability reduces customer costs by minimizing rejections rate, corrective fabrication and production slowdown – particularly important to the manufacturer who depends upon just-in-time (JIT) delivery.
302. Why focus on innovation? Help educate the UK designers and engineers of today and tomorrow about the versatility of aluminium extrusion for their business Coordinate technical support to help them develop new products in aluminium for UK PLC These activities should encourage the increasing specification of aluminium extrusion By supporting the use of extrusion in good product design today, we intend that the business of supplying aluminium extrusions will grow in the future Inform designers and engineers about the huge environmental / recycling benefits of aluminium and the advantages for their products
303. Questions/answers/ and thank-yous Simmal Ltd would like to thank Sapa for their technical help and providing us with some of the photos use in this presentation
304. How to contact us? FREEPHONE 0800 731 8238 Ask for Frank Power Or visit our web site at www.simmal.co.uk