Hi. Today tabletop extruderscrew plastic injection molding machines for the homeshop is a reality. But what about aluminium extrusion machines? Is is feasible to build a aluminium extrusion machine at home?
In principal it looks pretty straight forward. Just a pipe with a die in the end and a ram with a hydraulic drive and some form of heating to heat the aluminium billett.
So can it be made in she home shop for prototyping? And how much force is typically needed (assuming we use smaller diameter billetts than in normal production machines). And is it practical to make larger diameter extruded parts than the billett used? Maybe via a multi stage die.
I got the idea because i wanted to experiment with some different aerofoil profiles for a project i have. And want to make them out of extruded aluminium so they can be hollow with structural ribs on the inside.