Custom 45 x 90 mm Aluminium Extrusion: Dies, Tooling and Lead Time

01How does the timeline from enquiry to arrival actually break down?

Five stages, and only one of them is the sailing. Quoting a single number hides which stage is the constraint, which is why delivery arguments usually start at the end of the chain when the real delay was at the beginning.

So a mill finish order on an existing die is roughly 12 to 20 days to load, and an anodised order on a new die is roughly 30 to 40. The difference between those two numbers is almost entirely the die, which is why the die question comes before the price question.

02What does the die cost, who owns it, and is it refundable?

For a section in this size range, a solid die is 1,500 to 4,000 USD depending on the number of cavities, the complexity and whether a special bolster is needed. A hollow die for a multi-cavity section sits at the top of that range. The number itself is not the interesting part; the ownership and the refund terms are.

Three arrangements are common. The die is charged and owned by the customer, which is the cleanest for the buyer. The die is charged and owned by the supplier, which usually means a lower price per metre and no die refund if you move. Or the die is free against a committed volume, which means it is amortised into the price and you pay for it either way.

Two things to put in writing. Who holds the die, and whether it can be collected if the relationship ends. And whether the die is refundable against volume, because a refund clause that requires 50 tonnes is not a refund for most buyers.

03What extrusion ratio and press does a 45 x 90 need?

The profile area is about 1,520 square millimetres at 4.10 kg/m and a density of 2.70. The extrusion ratio is the billet area divided by the profile area, and for 6063 a ratio of 10 to 40 is normal, with lower ratios easier to run and higher ratios producing better mechanical properties but harder surfaces.

The practical consequence is that a 45 x 90 is not a demanding section. It runs comfortably on a 5 or 6 inch press at around 800 to 1,100 tonnes, which means most established plants can make it and the competition is on consistency rather than capability. That is worth knowing when a supplier quotes a premium for complexity.

04What happens to the trial material?

A new die typically needs two to four trials, each consuming one to three billets. That is several hundred kilograms of material that is dimensionally wrong in some way, and where it goes is a commercial question that is rarely discussed until the invoice.

The usual positions are: the supplier absorbs it, the buyer pays for it at scrap value, or the buyer pays full price. The middle option is normal and fair. What is not acceptable is trial material being shipped as production, which happens when the trial correction was cosmetic rather than dimensional. Ask for the trial report, which should state the measured dimensions against the drawing.

• Ask how many trials the die quote includes, and what happens after that.
• Ask for the trial report with measured dimensions, not a photograph.
• Ask whether trial material is charged, and at what rate.
• Ask for a sample length from the approved trial before the production run starts.

05What does export packing involve, and where does risk pass?

Timber packaging for export must meet ISPM 15, which means heat treated or fumigated timber carrying the IPPC mark. Plywood cases are exempt because the manufacturing process removes the pest risk, which is why a plywood case is often simpler than a timber cradle for cut lengths.

For 6 m lengths a timber cradle is normal, and it needs the IPPC mark on every piece of solid timber. A cradle that fails the mark gets refused at the destination, and the cost of that is a returned container rather than a delay.

The point most buyers miss is CIF. It reads like the seller is responsible for the freight, and they are, but the risk still passes at the load port. So a container damaged on the water under CIF is the buyer’s insurance claim, not the seller’s problem.

06What should a factory audit look at?

Four documents, and none of them is about the size of the building.

07What five numbers should be on the enquiry?

For a first order the die is the biggest single line, so the enquiry should make the die decision easy.

Section and alloy

45 x 90 mm six slot, 6063-T5, 4.10 kg/m, or a drawing for a new die

Total length and cut list

how the metres split, because the saw and the cradle follow it

Finish

mill, AA15 or AA20, and which face is visible

Die arrangement

customer owned or supplier owned, and the refund terms

Delivery term and port

FOB, CIF or DAP, and the destination port

Trial material

whether it is charged, and at what rate

Related sections and categories

The 45 x 90 is listed under 45 Series Aluminium Profiles, with the heavy wall version at 4.85 kg/m. For a new die, the extrusion against casting page covers when a die is worth cutting at all.