Aluminium Extrusion

As part of the extrusion process there is a vital requirement for the on-going cleaning and polishing of dies. This is a critical operation for the continual production within an extrusion plant but one that is often considered time consuming and full of tedious processes. However, without proper care and attention given to the preparation of dies, extruders risk high extrusion scrap rates and low die success rates.

I would imagine that when people think of Thailand manufacturing is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind.

It certainly wasn’t for me…

That was until we decided to look into the market opportunities that the ASEAN region could bring for providing wet blasting solutions.

ALUEXPO 2013 brought together the leading specialists from the aluminium industry, as well as 151 international companies from 32 countries that wanted to take advantage of the potential opportunities in Turkey. Aluexpo was over 8.468 m² exhibition stands held at a venue located close to the International airport in Istanbul. Over the 5 days we were able to showcase the Vapormatt technology with our Turkish agents ADA Trustar who had set up an impressive stand. 

Vapormatt will demonstrate how its Lynx wet blasting system offers extruders a solution that will improve die success rates when it visits the ALUEXPO 2013 exhibition, which this year takes place at the Istanbul Expo Centre, Turkey, from 3rd to 6th October.

Vapormatt is to open a new sales and technical support centre in Thailand, extending its service to customers in Southeast Asia.  The new office will bring Vapormatt closer to companies within the region who require advice, systems and services from the global leaders in wet blasting technology, including all the latest knowhow and specialist maintenance to help keep their machines in optimum condition.

A lot of the time we hear how critical a die's success rate is for aluminium extrusion and being able to improve this becomes a key objective for those involved with die correction.

After all if your die is expected to provide kilometres of profiles then a small percentage decrease can make a big difference. However, despite die maintenance being regarded as a tedious process it is critical to ensure minimal downtime on your lines.

Vapormatt has strengthened its position within the surface preparation industry and enhanced its offer for customers with the appointment of Paul Rawlinson as an Application Specialist and Sales Engineer.  Paul brings to Vapormatt more than 30 years’ experience within the industry and this will significantly assist customers in the selection and specification of equipment within the markets that he is responsible for developing: aluminium, aerospace and contract processing operations.

Today I was keen to make the case for wet blasting as an effective process for increasing the die sucess rates in your extrusion plants at the correction stage.

But, before I start have a look at the above die...

This was taken on a recent trip to a customers extrusion plant where I had the opportunity to have a look around their correction shop. As you can see there is quite transformation from untreated (left) to wet blasted (right).

Wet blast specialists, Vapormatt, is reporting significant business development as a result of its participation at the Aluminium 2012 Exhibition in Germany (October 8 – 10). The company highlights the industry as a key user of its system designs – particularly in the field of extrusion die cleaning.

The Finnish aluminium extrusion specialist, Purso Oy, has recently installed a Vapormatt automated wet blast system on its latest advanced-technology extrusion line in Siuro, Finland – one of the most modern of its kind in Europe.  Extrusion force of the new line is 27MN (megaNewtons).  The company also operates two other lines, with extrusion forces of 35MN and 16MN.