Profile extrusion is a manufacturing method used often across various industries around the world. It’s a cost-effective and efficient way to create a large number of products that are high in quality and are built to last.
Collectively, it’s easy to focus simply on the end result, receiving the product order and then getting to work. Knowing the profile extrusion process, however, can lead to a deeper understanding of how the parts and components are produced — and lead to better decision making about selecting the right vendor.
Follow along as Custom Profile dives deep into the profile extrusion process.
Profile Extrusion Process: The Steps
Profile extrusion processes undergo six critical steps starting with design and ending with finishing. Profile extrusion is a specific type of plastic extrusion that focuses on creating continuous, shaped profiles with a constant cross-section, like pipes, window trims, and decorative moldings. Profile extrusion generally does not refer to the production of flat sheets or films.
Design & Material Selection
The design stage is one of the most important parts of the profile extrusion process. While it’s not a mechanical manufacturing process, by getting the design right it reduces the likelihood of required rework and optimizes the project.
Once the design is in place, material selection comes next. There are numerous choices you can make for profile extrusion services — Custom Profile offers 400 different grades of polymers. Keep in mind that different materials serve different applications.
Feeding & Melting
Once design and material selection are done, it’s onto the next part of the profile extrusion process.
Materials start off as pellets or granules, which are fed into a hopper. The hopper is a channel that takes the pellets into an extruder barrel and that’s where the extrusion process takes off.
This barrel contains a rotating screw that pushes the material forward and into a heated area. The built-in heating devices begin to melt the pellets into a semi-solid state as they flow to the next stage of the manufacturing cycle.
Filtering
While not every manufacturer may do this, filtering is a key way to ensure quality before the final component is even produced. A screen and barrier plate remove any contaminants and allow for clean material to pass through as the melted plastic moves through the manufacturing process.
By filtering out potentially harmful and contaminated materials, it ensures your product will be internally clean from agents that could wear down your order before it’s even put to use.
Shaping
This is where the melted plastic transforms into the designed shape. As the melted pellets move throughout the extrusion machine, they flow into a designed die that’s custom-made to match the exact specifications of the design from the beginning of the process.
Cooling & Sizing
While there are multiple ways to cool products, the profile extrusion process often utilizes cooling tanks. Products have to be cooled down in order to solidify and this also helps with internal stress relief plus stabilize dimensions.
Cutting & Finishing
The final step of the profile extrusion process is to cut the continuous piece into its appropriate, pre-determined length. Depending on material selection, there are secondary services that can be applied such as thermoforming, assembly, and ultrasonic welding.
Contact Custom Profile Today and Trust our Profile Extrusion Process
Custom Profile serves as one of North America’s leading custom plastic manufacturers. With multiple industries served since 1992, we’ve developed the experience and expertise to deliver superior results.
Our profile extrusion process has been honed by decades of experience and a diverse customer base, and with multiple styles of profile extrusion available, we have the knowledge and skill to work multiple projects at once.
Want to learn more about the profile extrusion process or are ready to get started with an order? Connect with us today and we’ll gladly answer any further questions or get right to work starting with design practices.