Mideast Aluminum

Low Tolerance for Inefficiency

Challenge
Increasing production speed and efficiency for large close-tolerance extrusions.

Technology Applied
Granco Clark fully automated double length system, featuring a twin puller, adjustable hot saw and controlled vertical crush stretcher (CVCS).

Features and Benefits
• Extrusion is under tension longer, for more air quenching and better quality.
• Puller head is always available, increasing production speed.
• Hot saw efficiently cuts off the extrusion during the dead cycle.
• The pivoting upper jaw of the CVCS can be set to any closing dimension for any extrusion height, saving time, maintaining extrusion quality and reducing scrap.

Mideast Aluminum, a division of Indalex Aluminum Solutions, is well known for setting the standard in large, close-tolerance extrusions. An exceptional level of precision is necessary to produce the ready-for-assembly, defect-free components that Mideast provides to the machinery, equipment and electrical markets.

Production of large, heavy extrusions has historically been a slow process, particularly when a high degree of precision is required. The challenge is to increase speed and efficiency, without compromising quality.

When Mideast decided to acquire their first fully automated extrusion line, they needed a supplier that would address their very specific needs. Granco Clark met this challenge when designing Mideast’s new double length system. The line features twin pullers to increase extrusion speed capabilities and an adjustable hot saw, cutting extrusions at the time of the dead cycle.

“Longer extrusions mean less scrap, so the double length system provides higher yield,” explains Joe Klepacki, Extrusion Press Manager. “And with more exposure to air quenching, we can cool heavier extrusions while they are under tension and without spray. The twin puller increases precision, and with a puller head always available, our production speed has increased.”

The Granco Clark system also includes an SST Hot Jet Furnace with integrated shear to supply the 2750-ton press with a uniformly heated billet, cut to size to minimize scrap. Quenching is accomplished with an air quench system and high-pressure spray quench.

The innovative design of Granco Clark’s controlled vertical crush stretcher (CVCS) is well suited for the large extrusions produced by Mideast. The hydraulically controlled pivoting upper jaw can be set to any opening or closing dimension, minimizing distortion and saving cycle time.

The line’s cutting capacity is optimized with the ECS saw and gauge, designed to cut wide batches of extrusions with machine tool precision. Automatic blade height adjustment, electronically adjustable blade stroke length and mechanical lubrication reduce demands on operators, and an acoustically insulated clamp hood provides considerable sound dampening to effect quiet performance.

This double length system is the first of Mideast’s three lines to be automated. However, the Indalex group of extruders and Granco Clark have a long-standing relationship. “At Mideast, we’ve used Granco Clark equipment in the past and we’ve been pleased with its performance,” comments Klepacki.