Educate yourself on aluminum extrusion dies and tolerances

Tolerance is deviation from design dimensions. Billet temperature, extrusion speed, die shape and type, amount of post-stretch, and air temperature are factors that can affect aluminum extrusion die tolerance. These tolerances can impact the design of the product.

I recommend: Consult The Aluminum Association for industry standards. The association is also a terrific avenue for finding aluminum extrusion die manufacturers and suppliers. Southern Carbide Die, Inc. and Alexandria Extrusion Company (AEC) are two companies who specialize in aluminum extrusion dies.

Ask to see piece parts from your extrusion die maker

You will want to monitor your extrusion die manufacturers' work and the best way to do this is to ask for a piece part review. This will allow you to spot a manufacturing flaw immediately. Precision in extruder die manufacturing is imperative.

I recommend: Midland Plastics and Excalibur Extrusions are great sources for plastic extrusion dies and custom fabrication services. Thrust Industries specializes in plastic extrusion dies for the telecommunications, electronics, automotive, and computer industries.

Consider extrusion die design software

A die design software package can save you money. Advanced software capabilities can reduce setup time and shorten tooling time. Most design software programs were built to integrate with Computer Automated Design (CAD) systems, which has been the industry standard for years.

I recommend: Cimatron and Striker Systems offer 3-D die design software and their solutions have a feature that allows the user to switch to a 2-D interface design if that is needed.