Before aluminum is turned into useful products, it is first made into raw materials for industry. These materials may be in the form of aluminum bar, rod, tubing or large rolls. Here are some important things to know about these shapes to give you a better understanding of how the aluminum industry operates.
Production
There are several ways to make aluminum bar and rod. It can be created with an extrusion process, rolled, coiled or drawn from aluminum in its molten state. There are a number of products taken from rod and bar. For example:
* Wire
* Screws
* Bolts
* Nails
* Rivets
* Chain link fence bars
* Zippers
Are Aluminum Bar and Rod the Same Thing?
Both rod and bar are made with the same processes like extrusion. As a general rule, rod is round or circular while bar has flat sides. Rod is used to create aluminum electric wire and even though aluminum wiring has fallen from favor for home and residential use, it still sees a great deal of use today.
To make aluminum wire, aluminum rod is stretched through special machines until it becomes thinner and thinner and reaches the desired thickness. Once the wire is drawn it is then placed in a large bobbin machine and wound into stranded conductors.
Aluminum Wire – Transmitting Our Power
Our electricity comes from huge AC generators and it is created in voltages much too high for the average consumer or business to use. Electricity is generated in power as high as 14,000 volts so it can be transmitted over a long distance. When it gets close to a source, voltage is then lowered by transformers to either two or three phase power.
Aluminum is the preferred material for high voltage power transmission in the United States. It is the most cost effective option. In fact, it can carry twice the current as copper and can be recycled over and over again.
More wire is produced from aluminum rod than any other materials. Plus, there are other uses for aluminum wire you may not be aware of. When you make a cup of tea, the staple in the tea bag comes from wire (made from aluminum rod) and the twist ties keeping your bread fresh and soft, come from the same source.
Aluminum Rod as Tubing
Many kinds of aluminum tubing are created by hollowing out rod materials. These tubes or pipes are used to transport water in a wide range of commercial applications. Thanks to the many available shapes (like aluminum bar and rod), the aluminum industry is going strong today.
