aluminium extrusion - when?

agricola64

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sorry to ask this here ..

but i have been looking for this information in my "history of
technology" books and on the web - but all the looking and googling
around was fruitless ..

aluminium extrusion - production of aluminium profiles, seamless pipes etc. ..
when was it invented ..? was it in actual use before or during ww2?

servus

markus
 
Uuh, difficult question !
Can't tell the actual date of the first industrial use, too, but if your question
centers on "in use before WWII", then I would say "yes".
On http://www.alu-menziken.com/Gruppe/100jahre_d.htm you can find
the history of a german aluminium producing factory, mentioning that in 1928
a 350 tons press was bought (not invenvented !), so such machines probably alreday
were in use elsewhere.
 
Hi Paul,
Ref the question on the forum relating to aluminium extrusion.

I have gone through my old metallurgy books and, frustratingly, have not managed to find too much. Duralamin, the first aluminium alloy suitable for aircraft structures, was discovered by accident by Alfred Wilm in 1906. Its first significant use was in the structural members of Zeppelin airships in the First World War, but I do not know if these were extrusions. The production of aluminium-base (and magnesium-base) alloy extrusions was stimulated by Second World War demands in order to provide long lengths in the bulky sections often required in aircraft spars and the like. Therefore, I guess that the process was developed and perfected during the 1920s and 1930s. Sorry I cannot help any more than this.

In case anyone does not know, extrusion involves forcing a metal through a die so that, in a single process from a cast billet, it is possible to obtain quite complicated sections of reasonably accurate dimensions. The aluminium billet is first heated to between 350deg.C and 500deg.C (depending on the alloy) to make it soft and the process is rather like squeezing toothpaste out of its tube.

Hope this helps.
Tony.
Info from Tony Buttler
 

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