What should pay attention to Industrial aluminum cutting?

 Industrial aluminum cutting is crucial in many industries, from automotive to construction. Aluminum profiles are usually extruded into 6m long strips and then cut to the required size.

Although cutting aluminum may seem simple, it involves several factors that need careful control for the best results. Let's explore the key aspects of aluminum cutting to ensure precision, reduce waste, and prolong equipment life.

Aluminum is known for its light weight, corrosion resistance, and versatility. However, its softness compared to other metals, like steel, poses unique challenges when cutting. These challenges include burr formation, tool wear, and difficulty in maintaining consistent cut quality.

Industrial aluminum cutting requires attention to material properties, cutting techniques, and precision to avoid common issues like burr formation and tool wear. Understanding the attention of cutting aluminum profiles is necessary for designing aluminum products, including cutting tools, methods, and post-cutting processes which can significantly improve the overall efficiency and quality of the cut aluminum profiles.
 

Key Considerations in Industrial Aluminum Cutting

When working with industrial aluminum profiles, several factors need to be taken into account to ensure that the cutting process is smooth and the end product is of high quality:

Choose the Right Saw Blade

Aluminum profiles are softer than steel, which makes them easier to cut, but this also presents a challenge that it tends to stick to the blade, causing friction and wear. Therefore, selecting the correct saw blade is crucial. Using a professional saw blade designed for aluminum cutting will help minimize issues:

 Carbide-Tipped Blades

Carbide-tipped blades are ideal for cutting hard aluminum alloys like 2024 and 7075, and thicker profiles. Their high wear resistance ensures longer blade life (approximately 2-3 years), making them perfect for challenging cutting tasks.

 HSS Blades

HSS blades are cost-effective compared with carbide blades and ideal for cutting thin or soft aluminum alloys. They are more affordable than carbide-tipped blades, making them suitable for high-volume cutting when cutting 1050 aluminum

 Diamond Blades

Diamond blades offer extreme hardness(9000 HV) and wear resistance, making them perfect for cutting complex and hard aluminum alloys like 7075.

 Aluminum-Specific Blades

These blades are designed to minimize friction and prevent aluminum from sticking to the blade, providing cleaner cuts. For example, we use this blade to cut 6063 aluminum profiles with little burrs and chips, thus improving surface quality and ensuring smoother finishes.

Sound blade sharpness can softer material properties means that blades will dull faster compared to when cutting harder metals. To maintain cutting efficiency and precision, it is essential to replace the blade regularly. A dull blade can cause the aluminum to brittle or deform[1], which will result in a poor cut.

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 Fine-Tooth Blades

Similar to aluminum-specific blade, fine-tooth blades are designed for precision cutting, reducing burrs and chips, and ensuring a high-quality surface finish, ideal for industries requiring precision. Based on our experience, fine-tooth blades reduced burrs and chips by 30%-50% when cutting aluminum components.

Lubrication: A Critical Step

Lubrication plays a key role in ensuring smooth cutting. Without the proper lubricant, aluminum sections will form burrs, which are difficult to clean and can also damage the cutting blade. Additionally, cutting without lubrication generates heat, leading to potential surface damage and poor cutting quality.
 

Using the right type of cutting oil or coolant is crucial. A water-soluble cutting oil or specialized synthetic fluid is recommended to reduce friction and heat buildup. These lubricants also help in preventing the aluminum from sticking to the blade, which extends the life of the cutting tool.
 

The research shows that using proper lubrication such as water-based cutting fluid can reduce tool wear by up to 54.5%, ensuring longer tool life and more efficient cutting processes.

Precision Cutting and CNC Machines

Most industrial aluminum profiles are cut at right angles. However, there are cases where bevel cutting is required, with the 45-degree bevel being the most common.

To ensure that the cutting angle is consistent and accurate, it is best to use CNC sawing machines. These machines allow for automated, high-precision cutting, which ensures that the angles are consistently accurate and eliminates human error. Plus, reduce unnecessary costs in CNC machining by optimizing your CNC processes for greater efficiency and precision.

[1] What causes aluminum profile to become brittle and deform

Cutting Process After Aluminum Extrusion

Once aluminum profiles are extruded, they undergo an initial rough cut to manage their length. Typically, industrial aluminum profiles are cut to lengths ranging from 6 to 7 meters. If too long, the aluminum profile becomes inconvenient for further processing, such as placing it into the aging furnace or oxidation tank for finishing.

Rough Cutting and Anodizing

If you're handling raw aluminum profiles, referring to mining raw ore and extracting aluminum metal through established industrial processes, you may need to perform rough cutting immediately after extrusion. This initial cut is not highly precise, but it reduces the material to manageable lengths. After extrusion, the profiles are usually anodized to improve their corrosion resistance. However, the anodized electrodes on the ends of the profiles must be removed before further processing, as they could interfere with the subsequent steps.

After anodizing, the length of the profiles is typically controlled at 6.02 meters, which accounts for the small amount of material removed during the anodizing process. This is crucial to maintain consistency in the length of the aluminum profiles before they move on to precision cutting.

Semi-Finished Products and Precision Cutting

If purchasing semi-finished aluminum profiles, referring to aluminum products that transform ingots into semi-finished metal by processes such as rolling, extrusion, forging, and casting, the next step involves transporting them to a processing workshop, where they are cut to the required sizes based on customer specifications.

Precision cutting is done using specialized equipment like CNC machines, which offer accuracy down to a tolerance of 0.2 mm.

 Aerospace

 Automotive

 Construction

After precision cutting, further processing steps such as drilling, tapping, or milling can be carried out to create specific features on the aluminum profiles, depending on the end application. These processes require specialized tools to ensure that the material is shaped correctly without compromising the structural integrity of the aluminum.
 

Cutting Techniques and Tools

Choosing the right cutting method and tools is vital to achieving the best results in aluminum cutting. There are several cutting techniques commonly used in industrial settings, each with its benefits depending on the application:
 

Conclusion

Industrial aluminum profile cutting requires careful attention to precision, equipment, and material properties. Choosing the right tools and methods, such as CNC sawing or laser cutting can result in high-quality manufacturing. At Kaixin, we offer expert aluminum processing services, ensuring that your aluminum profiles are cut to exact specifications. For more information about aluminum manufacturing, feel free to contact our Kaixin aluminum expert.