3 Working with Aluminum

Now that you�ve heard about aluminum, you may want to know what it looks
like. We�ll describe it, beginning with the forms in which it is produced, how
these forms are shaped and altered to become structural components, and how
these components can be dressed up with coatings. We will include some
comments on how this process differs from the preparation of steel for duty
and will conclude with a few suggestions on how to put the structural components
into place. This chapter, then, presents the product forms in which
aluminum is most commonly used for structural components, and how these
product forms are fabricated and erected.
3.1 PRODUCT FORMS
The forms of aluminum used in structural components include extrusions,
flat-rolled products, castings, and forgings. The most widely used of these
forms are extrusions and the flat-rolled products, sheet and plate. Castings
typically have less reliable properties than the wrought product forms, and
forgings are often more expensive to produce than other wrought forms. Castings
and forgings do, however, lend themselves to more complex shapes than
extrusions and flat-rolled products.
3.1.1 Extrusions
Introduction What do aluminum and Play-Doh have in common? They can
both be extruded, of course (Figure 3.1). Extrusions are produced by pushing
solid material through an opening called a die to form parts with complex
cross sections. Aluminum is not the only metal fabricated this way, but it is
the most readily and commonly extruded. (Stainless steel can also be extruded,
but it requires such great pressures that only small and simple stainless
shapes can be made). The extrusion process makes aluminum an extremely
versatile material for structural design. Rather than being limited to the standard
rolled shapes, designers can concoct their own cross sections, putting
material where it is needed. Solid and hollow cross sections, even sections
with multiple hollows, can be readily extruded (Figure 3.2).
While extrusions dominate applications for parts with a constant cross section,
bar and rod are also produced by rolling, and tubes and wire by drawing,