Aluminum Makes Sense!

With the Ontario FIT (Feed in Tariff) program, Ontario is a hot-bed of solar activity. :-)

Aluminum components are often used in the mounting system, often extrusions. We’re happy because it’s extrusion, but overall, aluminum is a great choice.

It’s light-weight; it can be machined, cut to length, drilled, etc. It won’t rust like other materials so it doesn’t require special finishing, saving time and money for the completed component.

Kits can be assembled with screws or other components, or packed in units. Extrusions can be cut to length and drilled or machined, or supplied in long lengths depending on the Customers’ end use or capability.

Extrusion provides flexibility in design and to top it off, it’s 100% recyclable! What a great choice for a renewable energy application! Aluminum makes sense!

Congratulations Bob!

Each year, the Aluminum Extruder’s Council (AEC) presents The Distinguished Service Award recognizing the contribution of volunteers who, over their years of service, have had an impact on the AEC and the aluminum extrusion industry. It is the highest honour awarded by the AEC. We’re proud to say that this year’s recipient was our very own President, Bob Peacock.

The AEC is an international association promoting the benefits and uses of aluminum extrusions. Members are able to discuss challenges and opportunities, working to enhance the growth of the industry.

Bob has been an active member of the AEC for many years, including time spent as Chair of the council.

Congratulations Bob!

Have you ever had a great extrusion idea, but just weren’t sure that it was exactly what you need?

...Well, you should give 3D printing a try! Our Customers say so too!


"When developing a new extrusion, usually in an unrealistically short time frame, we have found the 3d prototyping service, offered by Almag Aluminum, to be indispensible. The value of being able to interface with a new part in a tactile manner is easily underestimated, and the power it brings to a presentation for a new product is considerable. It has aided us to make accurate and responsible decisions time after time." - Kurt, Operations Manager, Searle Exhibit Technologies

You may be familiar already about what’s available, but if not, there are several prototyping technologies out there. The unit we have produces parts from 100% recyclable ABS plastic which is rigid, but resilient enough to accommodate snap fit and other assemblies without breaking.

3D printed parts are very accurate. We say that the parts that we’ve measured are within 0.005” inch of nominal drawing dimension, but most of them measure less than that. They’re perfect for assembly units where multiple parts must fit together. And, we can also do end caps and other non-extrusion parts as well. You can check form, fit and function before any tooling investment.

Using prototypes can save thousands of dollars in design work! And TIME!


Come up with your design, have a 3D prototype made within 2-3 days, check how your design fits with the end product…if it’s bang on, great, it’s time to order the extrusion die. If a modification is needed…redesign, have a 3D prototype made within 2-3 days, check how your design fits…and so on, until you have what you need.

So…by going through the prototype process you’ve just saved the tooling cost for a profile that’s not quite right and at least two weeks waiting for tooling and extrusion samples. Customers have saved thousands of dollars in tooling and time by ordering 3D prototypes prior to extrusion production!

The software that’s used requires stl format files which we can do here. 3D drawings such as iges or stp files are converted directly to stl files. The 2D dwg, are “extruded” to 3D format in Solid Edge and then to stl files. The point is…that when we receive electronic drawings we don’t redraw them. Your drawings are used to make the prototype, so there’s no transcribing – what you send is what you get!

But…you don't have to send electronic drawings to produce prototypes. We receive many hand sketched designs. Our drawing team here will use AutoCad or Solid Edge to prepare a drawing in the required format – of course it will have to be approved by you before we proceed to be sure we’ve done just what you need.

The actual prototype process is cool to watch. The parts are built up in layers, it’s quiet, maybe just a hum as it works and once it’s finished it’s ready to send to the Customer, no extra steps are required – so it can be sent as soon as it’s finished. We have a maximum length of about 11”, but, because the parts are plastic, they can be glued together to make longer lengths.

Some Customers order prototypes for every new shape that they order so they can see it and hold, use it to review form, fit and function before the aluminum arrives. They’re not all that expensive either. Contact your sales rep, give us a call 888-GO-ALMAG (888-462-5624) or send us a note at info@almag.com and the sales team will be delighted to help out!

Sustainability - What does it mean to you?

We’re in the process of setting up a long term sustainability program to see what changes we can make to reduce the affect we have on the world around us.

Our process is a relatively clean one. There are no real by-products of the extrusion process. We are significant consumers of energy which is why we’re choosing to focus on reducing the amount we use. Over the past few years we have made changes to several things including our lighting and our fork lifts which have reduced our consumption, but there’s more to do.

Education about what can be recycled and what goes to waste has been promoted in-house. In the last 6 months, our recycling has increased and our waste has dropped in conscience efforts to reduce what goes to landfill.

There is always more that can be done. We’re in the beginning stages right now. We will be looking at each step in the process and considering long term goals, maybe even alternative energy sources.

As with many things, education is a key element to success. Creating awareness about how big in impact humans have made to the earth is important – THINK about what we do to the environment.

Saying “oh, it’s just one pop can in the garbage, what dif does it make?” may not make a difference IF it was only one can. The reality is that it’s probably a million people thinking the same way. Now, a million cans, THAT’S A BIG DEAL!

Everything we do is a drop in the bucket and every drop makes a difference! SO, MAKE A DIFFERENCE! THINK about your actions and if they’re helping or harming, every little step helps!

Merry Christmas

This is just a quick little post to show off our Almag ornament for this year, cute, eh? It was designed by our Fabrication Manager.

The end result is worth the problems we ran into during production. It’s one of the coolest ones we’ve done.

If you’d like one, drop us a note (info@almag.com), or give us a call (905-457-9000) and we’ll be happy to send one your way.

All the best!

Just in time for Christmas!

A bit of time has passed since the last Almag ornament update…the last you heard was that the die had broken and it was being returned to the die maker for repair.

We received the repaired tooling and put it to press, and…it broke again.

Now, the die breaking a second time may seem catastrophic, but there is almost always something that can be done. Fortunately, the die maker was here to see the die run and was able to provide a quick assessment. He felt confident that it could be repaired within about 5 business days and that it would work the next time.

The die makers are experts at what they do. They know our equipment and the tooling they make is designed specifically to suit our machinery. We ask for their input on repeat issues because they may offer some insight into the problem and the solution may lie with the tooling.

With timing getting close, mailing deadlines approaching, we were under the gun, but still confident that our original design would work. We had formulated a plan B, and were waiting for one last try before we put it in motion.
As it turns out, the third times a charm. The repaired die was received; a special notation was made for specific press parameters to be used when running, and success!

Once we had extrusion, we were then able to see about rushing the subsequent steps. I have to make note here that our order didn’t take precedent over any others. The order queue has to be followed, it’s more important for Customer material to be produced than ours. We were lucky that the equipment required to manufacture our part was available when it was.

We rush orders for our Customers regularly. Not everything can be rushed. It depends on the required steps, and how ours or our sub-contractors machine loads are when we request a rush. We didn’t do anything with our own order that we wouldn’t or haven’t done for our Customers.

In the end, we were able to have completed parts in time for mailing; in fact, they’re on their way now. For those of you on our mailing list, you should receive them shortly. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to receive an ornament (they’re very cool!) please send us a note to let us know and we’ll pop one in the mail for you.

Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy holiday!

Merry Christmas!

So now what?

A couple of weeks ago, order lead time info was posted, see “Is my part ready yet?” Our need for a new Almag ornament die was mentioned and I said that I’d keep you updated on how my order is going. So, here’s the update…

The die was due November 5th. Due to exceptional difficulty it was actually delayed by a week, so it didn’t arrive until November 12th. There are additional steps that are required after extrusion so we’re getting into a bit of a time crunch to ensure we’re able to get our ornaments out before Christmas.

As is our policy for new tooling, the die was put to press within 48 hours – the die arrived Thursday evening and it was extruded Friday afternoon.

Monday morning the results were in…with great anticipation… and…the die broke.

Especially for difficult shapes, die breakage is a possibility. Just because the die broke, doesn’t mean that all is lost but, there will be a delay. In this case, the die maker will weld the broken piece, which will take about 5 business days, so the die is due back here on Friday (the 20th). New tooling orders are flagged with NEW TOOLING stickers so they stand out. Now that this is also a late order it will still have the New Tooling sticker and be printed on bright yellow paper so everyone is aware of the urgency. (This is our procedure for all New Tooling and/or Late orders to be sure they get priority - not just our Almag order).

Now, all we can do is wait with fingers crossed that once the die arrives all will go well - I’ll let you know. We’re running out of time, so if it doesn’t work, Plan B will play out… If you have any ideas for Plan B, please let me know, I’m open to suggestions. :-)