In our April blog, 2 Most Important Tips For Your New Extruded Aluminum Project, we encouraged you to just do it…..now if you’re considering the best time to begin designing a new aluminum extrusion. Aluminum extrusion lead times are extremely long for extrusion tooling, production, fabrication, and transportation. A new project for a simple design with no fabrication takes about 16 weeks to ship. Designs with multiple fabrication steps and anodizing can take 20 weeks or longer. If you think those lead times are long, many mills are not taking on new projects at all! This month we have some suggestions for speeding up the process and navigating the aluminum extrusion supply chain with less stress.
When searching for new vendors take the time to read and understand the information on their website. Each company should be using their website to tell you about their capabilities. Some only produce standard shapes. Some have very large extrusion presses and some only specialize in industries such as automotive or building and construction. If you have a custom design, keep looking. If you have a ½” diameter tube, keep looking. If you have a medical application, keep looking. In the long run you’ll save time by finding the right partner for your project.
What You Need To Get Started
When you have found a mill that you think fits your needs make sure to send them enough information to evaluate your project. The following list is generally enough to get an accurate estimate for your project:
- Ideally a pdf drawing with:
- The alloy and temper you require
- Dimensional tolerances
- Cosmetic surfaces identified
- A CAD file in case additional information is required by the mill to evaluate the design
- The cut lengths
- The number of pieces to quote
- The estimated annual usage if known
At Profile Precision Extrusions we specialize in SMALL. Small extrusions that fit inside a 3.5” diameter circle. We specialize in small tolerance ranges. Typically, one-half of the industry standard tolerance range. We have a small minimum order size (actually, we have no minimum order size!)
Call us today and find out how we can help you lower your overall costs, increase quality, and save time by allowing us to manage the value chain for you. Profile Precision Extrusions would love to help with your (small or large) unique challenge!
