difference between extruded aluminum and sheet aluminum

[520]

If you cannot see the seam inside the tube where it is mended together, it should be considered extrusion. Sometimes you cannot see the mill lines on the outside of aluminum which identifies extrusion without the aid of a magnifying glass. If you share this with the yard they should appreciate your knowledge and might be acceptable to other questionable metal. It really helps when you have a sample of each to demonstrate your keen eye. At least they will be less likely to play games with you.

I did just that. Even showed the scale guy that it broke while sheet bends. But they are good to me 99 percent of the time and these days I rarely scrap crutches or walkers so I am not too worried about it.



It's my personal policy to not argue with the small scale guy. If I had a whole load of something and was having an issue I would just go over his head or just take the material somewhere else.

[msmoorad]

I contacted the national scrap metal assoc...this is their reply:

.......however, your complaint was followed up and discussions took place yesterday with the Branch Manager at Reclam Phoenix as well as the Divisional Manager in KZN who advised that the product sold to them was not extruded but “sawed” into its form. Therefore, Reclam purchases it as “hard sheet” which, in turn, is sold on as “hard sheet”.

It has been pointed out that if you are not satisfied with the price offered by Reclam Phoenix, you should seek an alternative purchaser based on the 'Willing-Buyer-Willing-Seller' principle.

[Patriot76]

I contacted the national scrap metal assoc...this is their reply:

.......however, your complaint was followed up and discussions took place yesterday with the Branch Manager at Reclam Phoenix as well as the Divisional Manager in KZN who advised that the product sold to them was not extruded but “sawed” into its form. Therefore, Reclam purchases it as “hard sheet” which, in turn, is sold on as “hard sheet”.

It has been pointed out that if you are not satisfied with the price offered by Reclam Phoenix, you should seek an alternative purchaser based on the 'Willing-Buyer-Willing-Seller' principle.

Interesting.

[ozarksewaste]

I would hazard a guess that extruded is one composition of metal, sheet is basically random and different. They are probably buying extruded based on that composition, as far as the mill is concerned. Theoretically, you could probably push average aluminum through an extractor and it still be base aluminum, not the chemical composition needed for true extrusion. An XRF gun and some research could probably answer this more definitively.

[greytruck]

The yard tryed to tell me my extrusions were sheet alum today, Then they said half was cast. Scale guy double checked with another employee. I took back my extrusions and said to take this piece and ask your boss. Dude came back.... EXTRUSIONS!!!! This was after the 184 lbs of old sheet alum I just sold them.

[mleach]

It's also a good idea to separate the different alloys of extruded. 6061 and 6063 are the most common we see coming into my yard and are pretty easy to tell apart, separate, and are worth different amounts (6063 is worth more).

6061 is typically used for structural applications (like trailer floors or frames) and is usually heavier duty, thicker, and more brittle. 6063 is usually thinner, softer, and more flexible (aluminum window frames are typically 6063).

Also of note, just because it's not extruded doesn't mean it's old sheet. 6061 is also in clip/plate, as well as 1000, 3000, and 5000 series alloys. Easiest way to tell what alloy you've got is by the application. You should always know what you've got and segregate before showing up at the yard if you want to maximize your value...the scrap yard will separate to sell it to more money if you don't.

[msmoorad]

i was busy stripping printers for the past 3 weeks.
in the pic in the link below, is a pic of the pile of alum & stainless steel that i got from the printers:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

what i want to know is:
from what you can see, is that extruded alum?
i tried to sell it as extrusion since those big blocks are all one clean piece each but the yard said they will accept it as old hard sheet.

so thats what i ended up selling it as...all 704 lbs of it.

[mleach]

Yeah, there's extruded in there. Some of it looks like it's not clean/bare though. Looks like there is tape or gunk or something on it.

[JJinLV]

i was busy stripping printers for the past 3 weeks.
in the pic in the link below, is a pic of the pile of alum & stainless steel that i got from the printers:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

what i want to know is:
from what you can see, is that extruded alum?
i tried to sell it as extrusion since those big blocks are all one clean piece each but the yard said they will accept it as old hard sheet.

so thats what i ended up selling it as...all 704 lbs of it.

From what I can see it looks like extruded but there's not enough detail to see if there are folds, crimps or solder at the seems, the former indicating sheet and the latter 6061. Some places don't buy 95% extruded (dirty extruded), only bare and painted. So it could be extruded and the tape and glue and such meant old sheet to them.

[hills]

Thanks Guys ... It's a lot of helpful information.

I've had some spare time this winter so have been breaking down hard drives and some other electronics. Haven't done copper and aluminum in awhile so it's a bit of a puzzle on how to sort everything. Any feedback or opinions are greatly appreciated.

My best understanding so far:

Hard drive bodies painted: 6061

Unpainted older hard drives: 5052

Spacer rings: 6061 - T1 ... but some are stainless ?

Platters: 6061 extruded sheet ?

Hard drive motors: Electric motors aka copper bearing ?

Hard drive front covers: Can be sheet aluminum or stainless. Chuck the cover if a magnet sticks to it ?

Most processor heat sinks: 6063 ?

Most regular heat sinks that you pick off a power board: Clean extruded ?

Marine electronics shells like fish finders, radar, location plotters : Oxidized cast ? Old cast ?

Electric motors ends: Maybe oxidized cast -or- magnesium ?

[msmoorad]

Thanks Guys ... It's a lot of helpful information.

I've had some spare time this winter so have been breaking down hard drives and some other electronics. Haven't done copper and aluminum in awhile so it's a bit of a puzzle on how to sort everything. Any feedback or opinions are greatly appreciated.

My best understanding so far:

Hard drive bodies painted: 6061

Unpainted older hard drives: 5052

Spacer rings: 6061 - T1 ... but some are stainless ?

Platters: 6061 extruded sheet ?

Hard drive motors: Electric motors aka copper bearing ?

Hard drive front covers: Can be sheet aluminum or stainless. Chuck the cover if a magnet sticks to it ?

Most processor heat sinks: 6063 ?

Most regular heat sinks that you pick off a power board: Clean extruded ?

Marine electronics shells like fish finders, radar, location plotters : Oxidized cast ? Old cast ?

Electric motors ends: Maybe oxidized cast -or- magnesium ?

here by me, it seems that the yards accept only window & shower door frames as extrusion without a fuss..everything else, they seem to have something to say about it even though the item was bought/sold as extruded alum .

the guy at the yard said something about the stuff i brought in having the wrong profile...

[mikeinreco]

funny thing around here aluminum prices are as low as I've ever seen them.........The guy that lets me mix it all together and purchases it in bulk is paying more than the yards that require it to be separated.......