10 October 2022
Improving Extrusion Dies Cleanliness with Claris 9346 MB
Claris 9346 MB is an innovative liquid additive specifically developed to reduce costs and cleaning times of extrusion dies for aluminium profiles.
Every company that produces aluminium profiles uses extrusion presses to transform the aluminium billets into profiles with the most varied sections. After each use, the dies of the extrusion presses – which give the shape to the profile – have traces of solidified aluminium that must be completely removed before storing the dies until they are mounted of the press again.
The dies are usually cleaned by heating caustic soda baths, that bring the aluminium residues into solution through an exothermic reaction. However, this process involves the consumption of large quantities of soda ash, which must then be dismissed of at the end of the life cycle of the bath. Furthermore, the corrosiveness of soda ash and the high operating temperatures generate corrosive and dangerous fumes, while the formation of sodium aluminate fouling implies continuous maintenance work.
ALIT Technologies has therefore developed Claris 9346 MB, an innovative product that allows to obtain a more efficient cleaning process, reducing costs and cleaning times of the extrusion dies. Claris 9346 MB:
- Improves the overall cleanliness of the dies, facilitating the dissolution of the residues gathered in inaccessible points.
- Significantly increases the service life of the bath.
- Maintains the temperature of the bath at about 90° C, thus reducing fume emissions and evaporation consumption.
In the article published in the 77th issue of ipcm® International Paint & Coating Magazine (September/October 2022), we explored the technical characteristics of Claris 9346 MB and presented the case study at the Alumec plant.