Straightening Extruded Aluminum

I think I would file a damaged goods received claim with FedEx.. If you try to straighten it and damage it more (kinks, cracks, etc..), you may no longer have any recourse. Heat would burn off the paint.

I already have a replacement being shipped out....I have this one left to play with...and I can always repaint it....

I agree 100%. It's much easier to bend something than it is to make it straight again. I think it's some kind of entropy thing. It's hard for us engineers to resist the urge to fix something, but the wise thing to do is file a claim.

People people people, I have already resolved the replacement issue...they don't want it returned....so...if I can't straighten it, then I will cut out the bend and make 2 smaller pieces or something...but, there should be a way to straighten this....somehow...I have seen some people say you can heat it with a heat gun and bend it...but haven't seen it done on a profile piece...the question is how hot can I get it before disaster strikes...400°F ?? does this sound reasonable?

Can you come up with a way to pull the ends? When I say pull, I mean with several tons.

This is how some automobile bumpers can be straightened - back in the days when cars were made of steel.

Localized heating and bending will simply distort the extrusion, or crack it.

Maybe visit a large auto body shop?

Recycle with you beer cans.

Well I have 2 come alongs not sure of the max pull but probably 2 tons at least...but how would I attach the hooks?

Send it back.

It looks like it was just a little longer than the delivery truck's cargo space.

I'd gather no less than 6 ratchet straps then find a pair of surdy pillars ..then go to town as they say.

Do you have a bench vise? i would leave the vise open enough to walk the bent steel through while straightening the channel with a larger pipe over the outside of the channel. Make small bends and work slowly as to not kink the thing. Heat would not work well with such a thin sheet metal shape.

I would talk to an auto body repair shop for advice. This might require a friendly fee of pastries, beer or simple cash. I suspect they will still tell you that straightening such thin aluminum is impractical if not impossible.

Have you considered the idea of repurposing smaller, locally straight pieces?

Yes I can cut it and make some smaller ones....I'm thinking I could get a piece of steel stock to fit the insert section of the piece, and slide it down a bit at a time, then use an induction coil heater to heat the steel...

The problem is that you don't want to heat the steel, you would want to heat the Aluminum to weaken it, and avoid heating the steel to retain maximum strength of the steel.

A division of the company I work with does the opposite: they make circles out of straight aluminum (and other metals) extrusions. But, they make three custom sets of rollers for each shape of extrusion. These rollers are placed in a custom-made machine where the middle set of rollers is powered, and the other two are free-turning. They pass the extrusion through the rollers many times, adjusting the rollers before each pass, so each pass only bends the extrusion a little bit. They start with a piece of stock a foot or so longer than the circumference of the desired circle, as there is a section at each end that remains straight and must be discarded. They do this cold (ambient), and with a liberal application of oil.

I know this knowledge is of little use to your task, except to know that they do it cold, and little-by-little.

I suspect it could be done with a pair of come-alongs and a pair of stout posts, or a single come-along and three strategically placed posts, BUT if something slips or breaks, the cable and whatever is attached to the end of that cable could come flying directly at the operator; extremely dangerous!

I think your best bet is to cut out and recycle the bent section(s), and save only the straight portions.

Clamp it between two boards to get it close to straight, then peen it back into final position with a punch that will fit in the groove

Extruded Al is NOT easy to repair. The metal was stretched on one side when bent and probably put in compression on the other..

You can never "unstretch" that part of the rail. You will only succeed in tearing, kinking or twisting it.

Al doesn't work like steel in any sense. Unless you can determine the grade and temper, it's a crap shoot at best.

But, have fun trying.

Was the FedEx "FRAGILE" label still attached (wink)?

That's just the thing, it's not really fragile at all...I tried to bend it, it's tough stuff....must have backed a truck into it or something....I can't imagine...

Can't imagine huh? I can...…

That piece is bent in 3 dimensions, not along a straight line, and twisted along the bend axis. You didn't say how long it is, so let's assume it's 8ft long and 4inches wide. Get yourself a 10ft long 2x12 and rip off two 2x2 strips. Take the aluminum section and center it on the 2x10, lightly pin the longer end with a lag bolt/washer combination through a predrilled hole in one of the 2x2s that's centered over the inside of the section. Do the same with remaining the 2x2 except along the flange.

Now start drilling a hole through both pieces every foot, inserting the bolts/washer combination loosely. When you're a foot away from the kink, start incrementally tightening each bolt sequentially from the good end. Ultimately you will have the mounting surface flat against the 8 inch wide board.

At the kink you can start drawing the section to the flange mounted 2x2 with C-clamps. You will have to extend this technique to make it overcenter the section in order to remove the spring effect along the bent section.

This is a diy solution, body shops have frame bending machines and jigs that do the same thing hydraulically. A box of Joe and a dozen or two of donuts might be an easier alternative.

I like the timber solution, bear in mind the channel will open up and possibly needs pressing almost closed to resist this. Alternatively it will kink as it is now stretched. Aluminum age hardens so the sooner you do it the better the outcome. Good luck. Post photos of the result. Tony

Bent like that, it's almost certainly work hardened. You'll have to either anneal it or at least heat it enough to soften it past the temper of the unstretched portion before bending. I very Highly doubt any heat gun gets hot enough for that! A good propane torch would be a much better choice- an old trick is to mark the area with permanent marker and then get it hot enough to burn it off.

Don't waste your time, there is no way that you will restore the stretched section to original.

Put your energy into a more fruitful endeavour.

They are replacing the part gratis so no loss on your part unless you now start wasting time and effort trying to recover a bit that you will probably have no use for anyway.

First step would be to demand a replacement from the supplier, they will reclaim the cost from Fedex based on your pictures. Chances are that they will not want the damaged item back so then you can play with it without worrying about the consequences.

Sorry Nigh.

A new acronym is born:-

RTFT

The only thing I can think of is to build a room around the bent part. Embrace the bend.

I've seen hydraulic shops repair bent rams using a press and a flat platen. A good operator would have that sorted in a few minutes.

You would definitely need to re-paint, but since you have replacement on the way that's not such a concern.

Maybe make a nice screen for garage entrance??

If we have a round rod that may be bent or curved up to 6' Long, we hold the piece vertically with the BOW forward and SLAP it down onto a flat surface. may need a second time, but 99% the rod is straight

You could use it in an arched doorway....

What what,,,,oh I was distracted staring at this....

Yes I think beating a dead horse with it will produce results....now where to find a dead horse?

Looks like you have the first piece in a Rube Goldberg machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8cuuP4Jmio

if you really need to straighten it , take a 2x10 long as you can get ot want , then place then good part of the divider in the 2x10 -- screw down 2x4 of each side leavings maybe 1/16 in of play and pull / push the rest thru the slot you have made for it - the longer the 2x10 and the more screws in the 2x4's the better - might need to start pull /push slow with wider gap be work down till it is forced to straight -- if it is resilient a few passes will do it

but return it seems easiest option