Letter 39022

Measuring surface conditions on anodized aluminum extrusions [Georgia] 

January 17, 2006

I am a Quality Manager for a company that cast, extrudes, anodizes and fabricates doors,windows and curtain wall (Aluminum Profile) systems for the commercial building industry.
New to this industry, I have issues I am not familiar with --

One is how to measure Die Lines on extrusions and set a standard that is not subjective.
Can I use a surface roughness tester to set a numerical standard for pass/fail on die lines after extrusion?

Chris Finley
architectural structures - Dublin, GA, USA

Does it really matter what a couple of crazy internet savvy finishers think? Isn't it your customer that you should be asking about what's important? Of course using a profilometer can quantify the roughness of the extrusion but what about the depth or width of the scratches or the density (scratches per square foot) for example. The simple answer to your question is "YES" but the more difficult question is "what determines quality in my customer's eye?"

Milt Stevenson, Jr. Anoplate Corp Syracuse, NY, USA

Being in QC you already know that the only standard that wouldn't be subjective would be "no die lines allowed", it either iz or it ain't.
Now, how do we get past the customer(internal or otherwise) that rejects a product because they don't like it, but you have a stack of paperwork with test results that say that it's good? Someone needs to write a chapter on that.

Sheldon Taylor    supply chain electronics Wake Forest, No. Carolina

I want to answer or follow-up on this subject publicly (in non-commercial fashion).

 

My company is a supporting advertiser at finishing.com and we want the contact information to reach the inquirer privately.

 

I want to post a new question or inquiry of my own on a different subject.