a process by which material is pulled (as opposed to pushed) through a die

to change the cross section or harden the material. Cold-finishing may be

used to improve surface finish and dimensional tolerances. Sometimes a combination
of methods is used; for example, tube may be extruded and then
drawn; bar may be rolled and then cold-finished. Products that have been
cold-finished or drawn are held to tighter tolerances on cross-sectional dimensions
than extruded products.
Standard Extruded Shapes Before World War II, most aluminum shapes
were produced by rolling, like steel, and so had cross sections similar to those
of steel. Many of these shapes had sloped flanges that facilitated rolling but
complicated connection details. Wartime and postwar demand for aluminum
products prompted better production techniques, especially extrusions, which
eventually displaced much of the rolled production. Since extrusions are not
subject to the limitations of the rolling process, the need for sloped flanges
was gone. Extrusions continued to be produced in shapes that looked like
rolled products, however, because these shapes were standard. Around 1970
the Aluminum Association introduced standard channel and I-beam shapes
designed to be extruded, with constant thickness flanges and optimum dimensions
for strength (Figure 3.3). Today, almost no aluminum shapes are
produced by rolling. Many of the old cross sections suited to production by
rolling are still shown in catalogs, however, even though today they are extruded,
not rolled.
A number of common extruded shapes are shown in extruders� catalogs.
Some of these shapes, as well as the Aluminum Association standard shapes,
are included among those listed in the Aluminum Design Manual, Part VI,
Section Properties. (See Section 6.2 for a warning on availability; 15 in. [380
mm] deep channels are about the deepest shapes extruded for general use.)
Extruders usually maintain an inventory of dies. Some are proprietary and,