Aluminium Special Profiles

General information about aluminium special profiles

Aluminium special profiles are designed for special uses, such as mechanical engineering profiles for machine and plant construction, handrail profiles for railing construction and palisade profiles for privacy protection, noise protection and fence construction. In addition, there are also special profiles made of aluminium that can be widely used in shop and trade fair construction and in the construction industry in general, such as support profiles for substructures, L- and T-folding profiles, edging profiles, C-profiles, stop and clip profiles.

How are aluminium special profiles manufactured?

Special profiles made of aluminium are often produced by roll forming or extrusion. In roll forming, which is also known as roll forming or cold rolling, a strip of aluminium sheet is passed through several pairs of rolls arranged one behind the other, thereby forming it into the desired cross-section. To reduce work hardening and increase the stability of the special profiles, the material is then heat treated. The so-called re-annealing is carried out at temperatures between 150 and 250 °C and causes a reduction in strength to the 3/4 hard or 1/2 hard state.

In extrusion processes, a rough distinction is made between direct and indirect extrusion. In both cases, the starting material is a heated aluminium block that is placed in a press cylinder.
In direct extrusion, the starting material is pressed with a punch through a die attached to the cylinder. This produces a profile strand whose external dimensions correspond to the internal dimensions of the die.
In indirect extrusion, the cylinder is closed on one side and is moved against a fixed die attached to a hollow punch. It therefore moves in the same direction as the profile strand.

Age-hardenable aluminium alloys are often subjected to heat treatment and, for example, solution annealed to dissolve the alloying elements in the aluminium crystal. Subsequently, the formation of precipitates is suppressed by rapid cooling and then cold ageing (at room temperature) or hot ageing (at around 140 to 190 °C) is carried out to achieve higher strength through the formation of finely distributed precipitates.
After production, aluminium profiles can remain untreated thanks to their good corrosion resistance, or they can be subjected to various surface treatments. Untreated aluminium surfaces are also referred to as mill finishes.

Where are special aluminium profiles used?

Special profiles made of aluminium are used in the following areas, among others:

• Plant engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Facade construction
• Window construction
• Railing construction
• Fence construction
• Noise protection construction
• Palisade construction
• Visual protection construction
• Shopfitting
• Trade fair construction
• Interior fittings
• Furniture construction

What advantages do special aluminium profiles offer?

Our customers appreciate the following properties of aluminium special profiles:

• low weight
• high dimensional accuracy
• high corrosion resistance
• easy assembly of profile systems