Aluminium extrusion is a process that is used to manufacture long aluminium profiles. The process works by pressing heated aluminium cylinders (billets) through a die opening to produce the profile shape. This can be compared to pressing toothpaste out of a tube. The bar of toothpaste thus produced has assumed the cross-sectional shape of the tube opening.
They may have small and/or varying wall thicknesses and they may have holes (inner contours) that call for the use of a two-piece porthole die.
The flow of aluminium towards and through the die is subjected to various frictional effects. This causes the flow velocity through the opening to be non-uniform. If this is not corrected and different parts of the profile are allowed to flow out of the die with different velocities, the product may warp, show surface defects or wall thicknesses may differ from the specifications. Careful design of several geometric features of the die can diminish these effects. This requires expert design knowledge that is often empirical in nature and thus difficult to pass on or validate. Many test runs and corrections of dies are often necessary before they are ready for production.
The aim of the project is to develop software that guides a designer through the design process of a die and offers the possibility of running simulations on the result.
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