MELTING PIT AND PRESSES , VAW
( ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA )

Aluminum Extrusion ingot is produced in a wide range of different alloys and dimensions and is the basis for extruded profiles mainly used in the automotive, transport, building and heat transfer industries, as well as the office automation and leisure industries. The remelt facility at the St. Augustine facility was designed to produce in excess of 64 million pounds of billet annually. The metal is heated to the melting point, alloyed and then decanted to the casting system. The caster is built into a 35 foot deep underground concrete pit with a caisson extending another 25 feet deeper to house the casting cylinder. The aluminum is cast into logs 21 feet long and then lifted and loaded onto load pads for transport into ovens with a load capacity of 90,000 pounds. After homogenization, the aluminum logs are stacked outside the building where they await being cut to length for use in the extrusion process.

The hot aluminum is forced under pressure through a die made from special tool steels and then pulled by an extrusion puller, part of the extrusion exit system. Proper design of the mat foundation by Structures International was critical to the precision alignment of the press and extrusion handling equipment.