Aluminium Extrusion Frames: to build or to buy?

What is aluminium extrusion?

The process of shaping aluminium into specific lengths of a fixed cross-sectional profile is known as aluminium extrusion.  The aluminium is forced at high pressure through a die to achieve the desired profile, which can be solid, semi-hollow or hollow.

Why is aluminium extrusion suited to building frames?

Lightweight, yet strong, non-magnetic and naturally rust- and corrosion-resistant, aluminium extrusions are the ideal material for frames that need to carry weight or act as a supporting structure.  Steel is the other main option, but requires welding and drilling, which is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to alter if plans should change.

What are aluminium extrusion frames typically used for?

Aluminium frame systems are incredibly popular in industrial settings.  They are used for everything from machine guarding to machine substructures.  They have also become increasingly popular with the general public who build all manner of things for their own personal use, be it storage, workstations for hobbies and even people kitting out their own campervans.

Does Matara provide aluminium extrusion or the finished aluminium frame system?

The answer is both!  At Matara, we are one of the UK’s main aluminium extrusion suppliers and stock a wide range of aluminium profiles which we can cut to your required lengths and can also precision drill the aluminium extrusion to your specifications, enabling you to construct your aluminium frame.  Our most popular types of aluminium profiles include the L-shaped PG40 profile for medium to heavy usage such as workstations and conveyor assemblies, through to the PG20 aluminium T slot profile designed for lightweight assemblies.  We also stock extensive profile accessories to enable you to build aluminium frames and equipment to your exact requirements with a minimum of fuss.  

Alternatively, we can design the aluminium frame to your precise specifications and deliver it to the site either flat-packed for you to assemble or fully pre-assembled and ready to use.

What are the advantages of building your frame?

If price is the determining factor in your project, then building your own frame is one helpful means of keeping costs down.  Matara’s aluminium extrusion range provides you with almost unlimited possibilities thanks to not only our ability to cut it to size but also due to our off the shelf accessories that are designed to work with one another to enable you to configure your frame the way you want it.  

Is building your frame difficult?

Well, this depends on your level of experience, the tools you have available and the nature of your frame.  If you have no experience, then designing and building your frame is going to be a steep learning curve initially.  It’s also going to take time, so do factor that in.  However, if your frame is relatively simple and you’re buying everything cut to size and machined already, then you should be able to get the job done relatively swiftly with a basic set of hand tools.

A word of advice though: be sure to check you are ordering the right size and type of aluminium extrusion connectors, aluminium extrusion brackets, and accessories, which is an all too common mistake.  If you’ve purchased the wrong accessories, the only way to get them to work as part of your frame is to machine them or buy new parts, both of which add to the end bill.

What are the benefits of outsourcing frame building?

If you employ the services of an experienced aluminium extrusion frame builder, such as ourselves, you benefit from our in-house CAD team and dedicated engineers who have vast experience in designing and building aluminium frames to ensure that you get the right aluminium frame for your requirements.  This can be for straightforward through to highly complex frames that require bespoke tooling.

Although there is clearly an added cost for frame production, you may be pleasantly surprised to find the cost much lower than expected.  That’s because we have the experience and tools to enable us to build a frame very quickly!

What’s Matara’s frame-building process?

Ideally, we start with a CAD-style drawing of what you want to produce, although we can also work from hand-drawn sketches.  This drawing doesn’t have to be hugely detailed, as long as it includes the box-section pieces, and their length and size, plus an indication of if there’s going to be panel materials included and where.  It’s also very helpful for us to know what the frame is going to be used for.  If the drawing supplied is simplistic, we will more than likely produce our drawing and send it back to you to ensure it meets your needs and, if so, for sign-off.

When sign-off is received, we start with cutting and preparing the lengths, and cutting angled sections if these are required. Then we proceed to machines and processes, such as drilling holes, tapping, milling, cut-outs, etc. If any plates need to be made, these will be sent through to our machine shop. The next stage is sheet materials, where we cut down polycarbonate or wire mesh to size, should these be included in the design?  The majority of Matara customers opt for assembly, rather than self-assembly, so the final stage sees our assembly team putting together the frame from the components we have created, ready to deliver to the site.  

Any useful advice/tips?

• Book ahead: Whilst we can produce a frame quickly, our production facilities are frequently booked several weeks in advance, so our lead times are often five to six weeks on assembled frames.  This is fairly standard across all UK-based aluminium frame makers.  Do take this into account and place your order well before you need it.
• Ask for design advice early on: when designing a frame, especially one that is multi-functional and therefore complex, don’t wait until the design is close to completion to ask for our advice.  We are here to help, but if the design has taken the wrong path, there’s a chance you may have to start from scratch as it cannot be rectified.  It’s not something you, the customer, want to hear after the hours of work you have put into it and it’s not something we enjoy having to impart.  
• Avoid last-minute changes: similarly, avoid making last-minute changes to the frames as it could compromise the outcome and delay delivery.  Adding one extra bar to a frame, for example, might not seem a big deal, but it requires all the drawings to be amended and the bill of materials – which can be in the hundreds if not thousands of quantities of parts – to be gone through to identify all of the parts that are affected by that change and adjusted accordingly. It’s a mammoth task that could take days!  Furthermore, once the frame has been produced, any changes to it may compromise the quality of the finish as aluminium is soft and therefore easily scratched.

Whether you’re looking for one length of aluminium profile or a complete aluminium frame, Matara’s engineers can quickly establish your requirements and supply you with competitively priced, quality products to suit your facilities and resources.

Based in the UK, Matara is a linear motion, automation and pneumatic component specialist.  For more information contact sales@matarauk.uk or +44 (0) 1684 850000.