Extruded Profiles

Extrusions are among the most widely used of the aluminum forming processes, affording designers almost unlimited creative latitude to design profiles to meet specific needs.

Keili Metals handles all extrusion needs in the standard 6000 alloy series and tempers; both custom and standard profiles (Die List).

In order to provide a detailed price quotation for your extruded profiles, we ask for as much of the following as possible:

• Detailed profile drawings (preferably AutoCAD) to determine information such as linier weight, critical tolerances, and other profile specs.
• Alloy and temper required.
• Surface finish required: Mill, Anodized, Powder Coat, PVDF, Thermal Break.
• Special cosmetic quality requirements.
• Cut length required and cut length tolerances.
• Packaging and Delivery Specifications.

We can quickly put together an entire pricing package from production to delivery.

6000 Series Alloys

An alloy is a material made up of two or more metals. Alloys have certain specific, desirable characteristics, including strength, formability, and corrosion resistance.

Aluminum extrusion alloys contain small amounts (usually less than five percent) of elements such as copper, manganese, silicon, magnesium, or zinc. These alloying elements enhance the natural properties of aluminum and influence the extrusion process.

6005 Alloy

Alloy 6005 alloy 6005/6005A is a medium strength, heat treatable alloy with excellent corrosion resistance. Its properties are that between alloys 6106 and 6082 and can sometimes be used interchangeably with these alloys.

6005 Tempers

Alloy 6005/6005A's most common temper is T5. This temper denotes that the material has been cooled from an elevated temperature for the shaping process and then artificially aged.

6005 Characteristics:

• Good corrosion resistance
• Good weldability
• Medium fatigue strength
• Suitable for very complex sections

6005 Typical Applications:

• Railway and bus profile structures with complex sections.
• Structural engineering, pylons, platforms, pipeline.
• Tubing for furniture,
• Railway and bus profile structures
• Ladders, Platforms, and pipelines
• Any sections where greater strength is needed than given by 6060 and 6063.

6061 Alloy

Alloy 6061 is one of the most extensively used of the 6000 series aluminium alloys. It is a versatile heat treatable extruded alloy with medium to high strength capabilities and the most common alloys of aluminum for general purpose use.

6061 Tempers

Alloy 6061 is commonly produced in several heat temper grades, 6061-O, 6061-T4, 6061-T6, 6061-T6511, 6061-T42. Machinability in the harder T4 and T6 tempers is good. It is notably less easy to machine in the annealed temper.

6061 Typical Applications:

• Manufacture of heavy-duty structures requiring good corrosion resistance
• Truck and marine components
• Railroad cars
• Furniture
• Tank fittings
• General structural and high pressure applications, wire products, and in pipelines.

6063 Alloy

Alloy 6063 is mostly used in extruded shapes for architecture, particularly window frames, door frames, and roofs. It is typically produced with very smooth surfaces fit for anodizing.

6063 Tempers

Alloy 6063 is commonly produced in several heat temper grades, 6063-O, 6063-T1, 6063-T4, 6063-T5, and 6063-T6. 6063 is also produced in tempers T52, T53, T54, and T55, with various improved properties.

6063 Characteristics:

• Very good corrosion resistance
• Very good weldability
• Medium strength heat treatable alloy
• Commonly used alloy for very complex sections

6063 Typical Applications:

• Architectural sections for windows, doors, curtain walling
• Interior fittings, frame systems, lighting, ladders, railings
• Heat sink sections, electronic modules, electro motor housings
• Truck & trailer flooring
• Irrigation pipes
• Also commonly used in architectural extrusions

6082 Alloy

Aluminium alloy 6082 is a medium strength alloy with excellent corrosion resistance. It has the highest strength of the 6000 series alloys. Alloy 6082 is known as a structural alloy. In plate form, 6082 is the alloy most commonly used for machining. As a relatively new alloy, the higher strength of 6082 has seen it replace 6061 in many applications.

6082 Tempers

The most common tempers for 6082 aluminium are: 6082-O, 6082-T4, 6082-T6, 6082-T651

6082 Characteristics:

• Very good corrosion resistance
• Very good weldability
• Good machinability
• Medium strength heat treatable alloy

6082 Typical Applications:

• Heavy duty structures in rail coaches, truck frames, shipbuilding
• Machinery: platforms, hydraulic systems, pylons, towers
• Masts & beams for shipbuilding
• Trusses, bridges, cranes, and other structural or weight bearing uses
• Other high stress applications

Other 6000 Alloys

6000 series also include alloys 6060, 6066, 6070, 6105, 6162, 6262, 6351, and 6463.

Extrusion alloys reach their optimal strength through the process of aging which ultimately determines the alloy's temper.

When the profile emerges from the press it is in a semi-solid state, but rapidly solidifies as it cools or is quenched (whether by air or water). Non-heat-treatable aluminum alloys derive their strength through natural aging and cold working. Heat-treatable alloys are further strengthened or hardened through controlled thermal treatments that affect the metallurgical structure of the alloys.

T-tempers
Alloys that are precipitation hardened gain their strength by solution heat treating (SHT) and ageing.

T Thermally treated to produce stable tempers other than F, O or H. Applies to products which are thermally treated, with or without additional strain-hardening, to produce stable tempers.

T1 Naturally aged to a substantially stable condition. Applies to alloys which are not cold worked after cooling from a high temperature shaping process, or in which the effect of cold working in flattening or straightening may not be significant in mechanical property limits.

T2 Annealed (cast products only). Applies to alloys which are cold worked to improve strength after cooling from an elevated temperature shaping process, or in which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening is significant in mechanical property limits.

T3 Solution heat-treated and then cold worked. Applies to alloys which are cold worked to improve strength after solution heat treatment, or in which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening is significant in mechanical property limits.

T4 Solution heat-treated and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition. Applies to alloys which are not cold worked after solution heat treatment, or in which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening may not be significant in mechanical property limits. T42 indicates material is solution heat treated from the O or F temper to demonstrate response to heat-treatment, and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition.

T5 Artificially aged only. Applies to alloys which are not cold worked after cooling from an elevated temperature shaping process, or in which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening may not be significant in mechanical property limits.

T6 Solution heat-treated and then artificially aged (in method such as water quenching). Applies to alloys which are not cold worked after solution heat-treatment, or in which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening may not be significant in mechanical property limits. T62 indicates material is solution heat-treated from the O or F temper to demonstrate response to heat-treatment, and artificially aged. T6511 designation means the mill straightened the profile to meet the straightness tolerances.