What is aluminum extrusion?
4 min read
How a custom aluminum profile is made — and when extrusion is the right call.
Aluminum extrusion pushes a heated aluminum billet through a shaped opening in a steel die. The metal takes the shape of that opening and comes out as a continuous profile — think of squeezing toothpaste, but with precisely engineered cross-sections.
Why choose extrusion
Extrusion is ideal when you need a consistent cross-section along a length: framing, rails, housings, trim, heat paths, and slide systems. It produces complex shapes in one step, with less machining and material waste than cutting from solid stock.
From spec to part
The process runs from tooling (the die), through the press, to stretching, cutting, and any secondary operations — machining, fabrication, finishing, and assembly. At AES, that all happens under one PO.
Minimum runs
Larger extruders often turn away small jobs. AES runs as little as 300 lb, which makes prototypes and short production runs practical.
Talk to us about your profile — production assistance from spec to part.
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