Catalog

1. Beginning words

2. First Treatment For Aluminum Alloy Profiles

3. The grade of the Aluminum Alloy Profile Frame for the Shower Enclosure industry

4. Further Processing For Aluminum Alloy Profiles

5. In Summary

1. Beginning words

In the previous section, we discussed a crucial component of shower enclosures: glass. If you're interested, you can click here. In this section, we'll focus on another essential component: the aluminum alloy profile frame.

SALLY Shower Quadrant Enclosure 

Within a shower enclosure, aside from glass, there's another vital component: the aluminum alloy profile frame. Serving as the skeleton of the shower enclosure, the aluminum alloy profile frame provides structural support. It securely fixes the shower enclosure glass to the wall and floor, while also offering stable support for components such as pulleys, pivots, and hinges.

What's more, the aluminum alloy profile itself possesses a dense oxide film, effectively resisting high humidity environments commonly found in bathrooms. The aluminum alloy's ease of processing allows it to be crafted into various sizes and shapes according to shower enclosure designs. Additionally, it can be treated with a variety of colors and textures on its surface.

Shower Enclosure Aluminum Alloy Profile Frame

2. First Treatment For Aluminum Alloy Profiles

Next, we'll introduce the production process of aluminum alloy profiles for shower enclosure frames:

2.1. Casting

(1) Ingredients: Determine the composition of various alloy element materials according to the required alloy grade for production.

(2) Melting: Add the proportioned raw materials into the melting furnace as per the process requirements. Utilize degassing and slag refining methods to eliminate impurities and gases from the melt.

Aluminum Melting

(3) Casting: Pour the melted aluminum into molds through a deep well casting system, allowing it to cool and solidify into various specifications of round ingots.

Aluminum Casting

Aluminum Alloy  Round Ingots 

2.2. Extrusion

Manufacture molds based on the cross-sectional design of the shower enclosure. Utilize extrusion machines to heat the round ingots and extrude them into shape. Commonly used 6-series alloys may undergo air cooling quenching and artificial aging heat treatment to enhance performance.

Aluminum Alloy Extrusion

2.3. Coloring

(1) Surface pretreatment: Chemically clean the surface of the profile or polish it to expose the pure aluminum matrix, facilitating the formation of a dense oxide film.

(2) Anodizing: Under specific process conditions, induce an anodizing reaction on the surface of the substrate, generating a dense porous alumina film.

Aluminum Alloy Anodizing

(3) Brushing treatment: For products requiring brushing treatment, employ mechanical brushing techniques to create a fine brushed texture on the surface of the anodized and colored aluminum sheet, presenting a unique matte texture.

Aluminum Alloy  Brushing treatment

(4) Sealing treatment: Seal the porous structure of the oxide film to improve pollution resistance, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance. Metal salts can be adsorbed into the film pores for coloring.

Aluminum Alloy Sealing Treatment

At present, the mainstream colors for aluminum alloy profiles in shower enclosures include bright silver, black, dark gray, gunmetal, gold, brushed gold, rose gold, brushed rose gold, and brushed gunmetal.

3. The grade of the Aluminum Alloy Profile Frame for the Shower Enclosure industry

SALLY generally uses the #6463 and #6063 grades of 6-series aluminum alloy profiles to manufacture shower enclosure frames. Compared to 5-series aluminum alloy profiles, 6-series aluminum alloy profiles have higher strength and hardness and are also easier to process. Of course, purchasing 6-series aluminum alloy profiles will incur higher costs for shower enclosure companies.

6-series aluminum alloy profiles

SALLY's shower enclosure production base is located in the Pearl River Delta region of China, specifically in Foshan City, which is renowned as a major production base for aluminum alloy profiles in China. Many large aluminum alloy enterprises are headquartered in Foshan City, making the Pearl River Delta region home to the world's strongest aluminum alloy supply chain. High-quality aluminum alloy profiles support the vigorous development of building materials such as shower enclosures and doors and windows.

Aluminium Enterprises from Foshan

Foshan and Zhongshan  

If you're interested in learning about shower enclosure companies in Zhongshan City and Foshan City, both located in the Pearl River Delta region, please click here.

4. Further Processing For Aluminum Alloy Profiles

After the aluminum alloy undergoes the coloring process, it needs to undergo the following processing steps to become the frame components of a shower enclosure:

Processing of Shower Enclosure Aluminum Alloy Profile Frame

4.1. Cutting: This process involves cutting and processing the longer aluminum profiles into the required dimensions for the shower enclosure.

4.2. Bending (for quadrant shower enclosures): The cut aluminum profiles are placed into a CNC bending machine, where they are gradually bent into the desired curve through mechanical rolling. During the bending process, it's crucial to strictly control parameters such as the bending radius and angle to prevent deformation or cracking of the profiles.

4.3. Polishing: Some products require polishing of the aluminum profiles at the cut edges, burrs, or rough areas to ensure safety during construction and use.

4.4. Drilling: Shower enclosure aluminum profiles typically need holes drilled for fixing glass, wall materials, pulley components, handles, etc.

4.5. Pre-assembly: Pre-assembling screws, glass, pulleys, and other components onto the aluminum alloy profiles of the shower enclosure in advance can significantly reduce the workload for users during installation.

Shower Enclosure Aluminum Alloy Profile Frame

5.  In Summary

After completing the above processes, the shower enclosure frame components enter the quality inspection stage. Once the quality inspection is completed, workers package the shower enclosure frame components along with other components such as the shower enclosure glass.

In summary, for shower enclosures, high-quality aluminum alloy profiles serve as the framework support material, effectively ensuring that the frame remains undistorted, crack-free, and with high corrosion resistance, thereby extending the service life of the shower enclosure.

Shower Enclosure Aluminum Alloy Profile Frame

SALLY's shower enclosure aluminum alloy bars are sourced from large aluminum material enterprises in Foshan City. The aluminum bars are extruded using molds designed by SALLY itself, with a hardness of around 13-14 degrees. They possess moderate hardness and toughness without being brittle, and their tensile strength, yield strength, elongation rate, and other important indicators surpass EU requirements.

SALLY Double Sliding Shower Door