Tag: about aluminum profiles

Safety First: What You Need to Know When Working with Aluminum Profiles in the Philippines

Safety First What You Need to Know When Working with Aluminum Profiles in the Philippines

What safety precautions should you know when working with aluminum profiles?

  1. Safe lifting techniques
  2. Proper material handling
  3. Heat and fire protection
  4. Beware of dust clouds

 

 

The aluminum industry, as well as the Aluminum Association, all agree that the safety of the workers and all the consumers that use their products should always come as the top priority. The data about illness and injury gathered by the Aluminum Association seem to indicate that manufacturing plants for aluminum profiles in the Philippines and in other countries are relatively safe spaces to work in.

Every day, millions of pounds of aluminum are all safely melted, cast, or extruded in foundries, casthouses, recycling, and reclamation plant all around the world. Just like any manufacturing process. However, there are still hazards and risks that are inherently involved in the fabrication and production of this metal.

But these hazards can be minimized or even eliminated entirely as long as careful attention is given to safe handling practices. Here is some general information on the safety precautions you should know when handling aluminum profiles:

 

 

Safe Lifting Techniques

The process of manufacturing aluminum profiles makes use of equipment such as fixed dummy blocks, extrusion tooling, and other similar heavy components. People that work with aluminum profiles, therefore, need to handle these items, often with great difficulty. Lifting using awkward positions create a constant risk of injuries.

In order to prevent these injuries, familiarize and train yourself in the correct lifting procedures. Use the appropriate back support belts whenever lifting anything heavy. Take a moment to find the best spot as well as the best way to lift a particular object to minimize the time you need actually lifting. Lastly, heavy lifting of the aluminum profiles should be done not with the back but with the legs. Avoid twisting and jerking your body when getting the item off of the ground.

 

 

Proper Material Handling

Proper Material Handling

Many aluminum fabrication and manufacturing plants have reported that the highest frequency of injuries happens when moving tools, profiles, and other items through the plant.

When using an overhead crane to move around aluminum profiles, make sure that the operator has received the proper training and certifications. If you are the one operating the machine, avoid sudden stops and starts which may cause you to drop the load. Do not stand near or under a load suspended from a crane even if the rack is empty. Move out of the way immediately if a load is coming toward you.

One of the more frequent injuries in an aluminum profile plant is to the hands. So avoid handling heavy, awkward tools especially if you aren’t using the proper lifting equipment. Keep your fingers away from puller teeth or jaws and stretcher jaw as to not injure them. The cut ends of aluminum profiles are also extremely sharp so exercise extreme caution.

 

 

Heat and Fire Protection

The temperatures required in the process of extruding aluminum are very high, making it hazardous to human contact. However, the outward appearance of aluminum metal usually gives no warning when it is hot. Certain parts of the press, tooling, and other equipment also experience similar high temperatures.

Make sure that any exposed workers, personnel, and even visitors to the work area should be properly informed in avoiding hot metals and other materials. Correct procedures should also be implemented to help avoid accidental contact.

Because most aluminum profile presses operate at relatively high pressures using mineral oil hydraulic systems, there is a high potential for fire. A leak in a hose, pipe, or fitting can cause the extremely flammable hydraulic oil to spray out. And since the process of making aluminum profiles is a highly thermal one, there are many sources of ignitions.

 

 

Beware of Dust Clouds

Beware of Dust Clouds

Working with aluminum requires performing activities such as polishing, grinding, cutting, sanding, sawing, and scratch brushing. This generates fine particles of aluminum, more commonly known as powder, fines, or dust, which can be potentially explosive.

In the case of making aluminum profiles, an explosion can result when ignition happens while the particles are suspended in the air as a dust cloud because the burning can extend from one particle to another very quickly. Welding equipment, matches, faulty electrical equipment, static electrical charges, cigarettes, cutting torches, and open flames are all potential sources of ignition in an aluminum profile manufacturing plant.

Qualified personnel in a fabrication plant should determine the degree of hazard presented by dust clouds by conducting laboratory testing. Dust collection systems, whether it is the wet or dry type, allows you to safely collect potentially explosive aluminum dust. Ensure that your facility has exhaust hoods or enclosures which can efficiently pick-up the dust from equipment and machines.

 

 

Key Takeaway

If you ever need to work with aluminum profiles in the Philippines, consider these safety precautions and wear the proper protective equipment such as safety masks and goggles to prevent small metal parts from getting into your body.

Wear protective gloves to protect your hands from the sharp edges and corners of aluminum profiles as well as being contaminated. Last but not least, avoid working with aluminum profiles if you are already experiencing health issues and heart problems.

Everything You Ought to Know About Aluminum Profiles in the Philippines

Everything You Ought to Know About Aluminum Profiles in the Philippines

What are the things you ought to know about aluminum profiles in the Philippines?

  1. Types of aluminum profiles
  2. Types of surfaces
  3. Advantages of aluminum profiles
  4. Uses of aluminum profiles

 

 

An aluminum profile, also known as an aluminum frame or an aluminum extrusion, is a building material that can be commonly found in windows and doors.

In countries like the Philippines, aluminum profiles are formed using a process called bulk plastic deformation which sees a billet of aluminum first heated to a specific temperature that is still comfortably below the melting point of the material which ensures the plastic flow of the metal. The heated billet of aluminum is then forced through a tooling die that is designed to form and shape the material into a specific profile cross-section.

While it might seem like the process of creating aluminum profiles takes a lot of effort, it has a lot of advantages. Aluminum profiles are actually lighter, stronger, cheaper, and uses less material than its solid counterparts. Profiles can come in a wide variety of shapes so you can always find a suitable one for your specific case.

Now that you are somewhat familiar with how aluminum profiles are made and why it’s important, here are the other important things you need to know about it:

 

 

Types of Aluminum Profiles

Types of Aluminum Profiles

Aluminum profiles can be fabricated in a wide variety of types and thicknesses. These profiles can also feature a wide range of intricate, hollow spaces that can be specified according to the end use application. Having different types of aluminum profiles as well as internal voids allows you to satisfy a variety of needs and applications and any performance or weight requirements.

The most common type of aluminum profile is the hollow beam profile which is simply a variation of the square aluminum profile. There are also other profile types such as single-radius, L-shaped, and triangular profiles.

 

 

Types of Surfaces

One of the byproducts of the extrusion process is that sometimes, there can be small and barely visible lines present on the surfaces of the aluminum profiles. These marks on the surfaces of aluminum profiles are the result of the tools used for the extrusion process.

If you need these lines removed, though, the aluminum profile needs to undergo additional surface treatments. There are also a few secondary surface processing operations such as face milling that can be done after the primary extrusion forming process of aluminum profiles in order to improve its surface finish.

These post-processing operations can even be customized according to the specifications of the customers in order to improve the geometry of the surface. By reducing the overall surface roughness of the aluminum profile, the finished part itself can also be improved.

Additional surface processing is usually specified in applications where the parts are required to be positioned precisely or where mating surfaces must be controlled tightly. Treating the surface can also improve the hardness of the profile, add electrical insulation to the intrusions, and add corrosion resistance.

 

 

Advantages of Aluminum Profiles

Advantages of Aluminum Profiles

Aluminum is the material of choice for profiles, shapes, and extrusions because it has the necessary mechanical properties and characteristics that make it ideal for shaping and forming. Because aluminum metal has high malleability, it can be readily shaped into a variety of sections without using much energy on the forming or tooling process.

In addition, the melting point of aluminum is typically half that of steel which means that the entire process of aluminum extrusion expends a relatively low amount of energy. This translates into low manufacturing and tooling costs, as well as reduced carbon footprints.

Lastly, because aluminum also has a high strength-to-weight ratio, it makes an excellent material for industrial applications.

 

 

Uses of Aluminum Profiles

Aluminum profiles are typically used in industrial automation applications such as the production lines used in the manufacturing industry. This material is certainly strong, but it is also light enough that any products that make use of it can be easily assembled and used without the need for power tools  or heavy equipment. Because of the specific tolerances that are present in the manufacturing of aluminum profiles, it can also be built and assembled into an almost endless number of configurations as necessitated by the structure.

There is also an increasing demand for aluminum profiles and structures because it now being specified in the weight reduction efforts of different industries. More specifically, aluminum profiles are now being used as frames in other end-consumer products such as environmentally-aware building projects and advanced automobiles.

The uses of aluminum profiles continue to expand into new areas as more advanced surface coating techniques and alloys are developed.

 

 

Key Takeaway

Aluminum profiles are used in the Philippines because it is versatile and it is an ideal building material for automated applications. Because aluminum itself is an excellent structural material, it lends itself perfectly to be used for profiles and extrusions.

No matter what the applications you have in mind are, there is a great chance that there is an aluminum profile that is perfectly tailored to the specific situation.