When it comes to industrial applications, it is very rare for pure aluminum to be used, especially when it comes to standard and custom aluminum extrusion. Aluminum is typically alloyed with other metals, which are used to enhance the natural benefits of aluminum products. The additives that are used to create the alloys will depend on the intended use of the final profile. A basic understanding of aluminum and its various alloys can help manufacturers better understand the advantages associated with choosing to extrude aluminum alloys in the 6000-series as we do at Silver City Aluminum.
Selecting the best alloy for your custom aluminum extrusion can be achieved through the help of our team of experienced technicians and engineers. While there are multiple options within each alloy series, the primary alloys are grouped into seven distinct categories. When you compare the different materials used in each group of alloys, it becomes clear why certain types were chosen for extrusion purposes. The characteristics of each alloy benefit the final product, making it stronger, more durable, and less likely to become damaged by rust or corrosion.
To benefit from all of the advantages of using aluminum, it is essential to use quality materials. This is true whether you are creating standard or custom aluminum extrusion. Before we extrude aluminum alloys for our clients, we start with billet from several different suppliers that is made of 99.9 percent recyclable aluminum. This provides quality results and ensures the sustainability of the projects that we complete. Our team pre-cuts the billets into 7-inch diameter pieces to size that corresponds with the length and weight of the ordered profile. This helps to minimize scrap and reduce costs for our customers.
Once the billets have been cut, they are loaded into a long oven for pre-heating before the extrusion process begins. Our team uses a specific temperature to guarantee proper extrusion. A steel profile is chosen or designed by the client for custom aluminum extrusion. The heated alloy is then pushed at approximately 10,000,000 pounds of pressure through the profile or die to create the exact shape that is required. The final phase of the process involves cooling down the finished products on a table and then stretching them into the perfect dimension while they are still warm with our opposing stretchers. We then cut the metal to the client’s requested length before heat-treating it to harden the aluminum to its maximum capacity.
If you are ready to take advantage of all the benefits of aluminum products to meet your manufacturing or industry needs, contact our team at Silver City Aluminum. We can help you choose the best standard or stock profiles, assist in the design of custom aluminum extrusion dies, and help you maximize the advantages of using aluminum. Give us a call at 508-824-8631 or use our online contact form to reach one of our team members.
Amanda Paluch
The evidence-based health benefits of walking continue to accumulate, according to ongoing research by Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Amanda Paluch, who leads an international consortium known as the Steps for Health Collaborative.
Findings from the latest study led by Paluch show that older adults who walked between 6,000 and 9,000 steps per day had a 40-50% reduced risk of a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, compared to those who walked 2,000 steps per day.
“We found for adults over 60, there was a strikingly lower risk of a cardiovascular event or disease over an average follow-up of six years,” says Paluch, whose team’s research was published in the journal Circulation. “When accumulating more steps per day, there was a progressively lower risk.”
Earlier this year, research by Paluch and the Steps for Health Collaborative showed that more movement, even below the highly touted but unscientific “10,000 steps per day,” was associated with longevity benefits. The meta-analysis of 15 studies involving nearly 50,000 people from four continents found that walking between 6,000 and 8,000 steps per day was linked with a lower risk of death from all causes among older adults.
Following those findings, Paluch and team wanted to tackle the less-charted territory of steps per day and cardiovascular disease. The results were similar, in terms of the most beneficial range of steps.
While there appears to be a continual additional benefit for those who walk more than 6,000 steps, Paluch says, encouraging the least-active older adults to take more steps is perhaps the most important public health message.
“The people who are the least active have the most to gain,” she says. “For those who are at 2,000 or 3,000 steps a day, doing a little bit more can mean a lot for their heart health. If you’re at 6,000 steps, getting to 7,000 and then to 8,000 also is beneficial, it’s just a smaller, incremental improvement.”
The meta-analysis of eight studies involved more than 20,000 people from the U.S. and 42 other countries. For younger adults, no link between steps per day and cardiovascular risk was detected.
“This is because cardiovascular disease is a disease of aging and often doesn’t come to fruition until we’re at older ages,” says Paluch, whose project was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “You’re not going to see many people develop cardiovascular disease after six years of follow-up in young to middle adulthood.”
Future research involving younger adults and steps per day would focus on the precursors of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes. “Those conditions develop in younger adults and are important for early prevention,” Paluch says.
Four of the eight studies the researchers analyzed included data about walking intensity, or how fast the steps were taken. “We’re interpreting these results with caution, but we did not find any striking association with walking intensity,” she says. “There was no additional benefit with how fast you’re walking, beyond the total number of steps that you accumulated.”
Paluch is among the researchers working to build a firm evidence base to guide public health recommendations for simple, accessible physical activity, such as walking.