RFQs for Aluminum Extrusions

Most aluminum extruder's will not charge for the die if enough quantity is ordered. Just send a detailed drawing to any extruder. There will be a minimum the first run will cover the cost of the die usually. The profile will be less costly if it has no enclosed areas. Example the insides of square tube. Try not make wall thickness less than .050 inch.

Absolutely you can (and should)!

As a project engineer for nearly 20 years, I have done this many times for everything from washers to multi-million dollar production lines.

As for a procedure, you as the customer should dictate. Does your company have an existing RFQ procedure? If not and you're starting from scratch, remember that you're in charge here. Start with your part drawing and specify it as tightly as you can (or need to). Things like exact material, surface finish, profile, length and allowable tolerances are all crucial. Once you have a completed drawing, build a RFQ spec sheet. Define everything that is important to your company or the project on the order. Things like order quantities, lead times, packaging methods, release dates & quantities & allowable variances, shipping methods, QC standards, and anything else you can think of should all be spelled out. Lastly you need to consider the tooling. Are you going to design or is the shop? I normally let the shop design the tool, but if you are competent to do so and have the time, do it. If you design, do you have a trusted die shop or will you let the extruder build from your design (in house or at their die maker's)? If you let the extruder design and build, insist on reviewing the plans before they start to build. Will you own or will they? If you own, will you buy outright or amortize? If you own, all parts that come out of that tool belong to you and should not be offered to any other customer unless you get a cut, insist on that in the contract. Insist a copy of their tooling contract is included with the quote. There is normally an annual tooling maintenance fee - know what it is and if ownership of the tooling affects the amount. Tooling choices especially should have input from your company's legal and financial advisors. Once you have all of this information together and organized, make a contact sheet for yourself to record the company names, contact information for the sales person you are working with, date RFQ was sent, expected return date, and actual return date (good indicator of their reliability). Send the package out, sit back and wait. Once all the quotes are back, and you're comfortable that all vendors have quoted the same baseline, you can work with each individually to determine which specifications drove the price up and decide where you can wiggle on your end. Now you have prices from all vendors for your baseline and prices from each on what they can do for you.

Let me know if you have questions and good luck!

This process literally take a few minutes, and your part can be sketched on a napkin if need be. Although admittedly, a CAD drawing might get you a little better response! LOL...

Where are you geographically? I've been sourcing and purchasing aluminum shapes for years, and would be happy to point you toward a few extruder's that work on all different scales.

I just had two profiles quoted today by four different extruder's. Some extruder's are actually extrusion mills, others will broker your project through a mill and charge you for their services...you can skip the middle man if your volumes will be large enough (usually 150-200 tons annually). If you more of a "little guy", you'll be going through a broker.

I can give you some brokerage and direct mill contacts if your in the neighborhood...

The aluminum extrusion production process is a process of shaping heated aluminum bars into the desired cross-sectional shape through a die. The main steps include: aluminum bar heating, die preparation, extrusion molding, pulling and cutting, stretching and straightening, and aging treatment. High pressure is used to force the aluminum bars to flow through specific die holes, ultimately obtaining a profile with certain mechanical properties. For a one-stop aluminum extrusion solution, please contact Shenghai Aluminum.

I'd try to get a realtionship going with a supplier at the outset unless your profile is very simple. I was staggered how subtle changes in the profile can influenece fundamentals like cost and dimensional tolerance when working on auto bodies in aluminium. If you stuff out a drawing the supplier will take it literally and quote accordingly to get the quote out swiftly and easily. They won't tell you that you could save considerably or halve the tolerance on a particular dimension by designing for the process.