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method to estimate the weight of aluminium profiles

Having an estimation of the weight of your aluminum profiles will help you to plan for shipping, storage and make a budget for the associated costs. But how do you know the exact weight of an aluminum profile?

The primary number required is the theoretical weight per meter. The measurement unit of this is usually kilograms per meter (kg/m). After you have this number, you can use it work out the weight of any length of aluminum profile. Usually the CAD drawings will mark the weight per meter for each aluminum profile sections, which is very easy to estimate the net weight of each profile.

The main formula for calculating the weight per meter of an extruded aluminum profile is:

Weight per meter x meters = Theoretical Weight per meter = Cross sectional area x Density

And because of different surface treatment like powder coating or sandblasting will add or lose some weight, so the weight is only the estimated figure for reference. Also the adhensive film and heat shrink film will add weight as packagings.

Here are the steps to get each of the parameters in the equation written above:

Calculate the Area of the Cross Section

Cross sectional area is the area of one slice of the profile. Using a simple mathematical calculation, this is simply the ordinary area calculation that you get by multiplying the length by the width. This will work for a simple square shape. So if a rectangular bar has a height of 35mm and width of 20mm, the cross sectional area will be:
35mm x 20mm = 700 square millimeters.

This is quite simple since it is a simple rectangular cross section used for illustrative purposes. If the profile is composed of a combination of small squares, rectangles or triangles, you can work out the cross sectional area of each shape and then add them to obtain the total cross sectional area. For more complex shapes, the cross sectional area may require special software to calculate. Using a computer aided design software will make it much easier to determine the cross sectional area of a complicated profile. So you can obtain this number with your CAD software or ask our supplier or manufacturer to help you to calculate it.

Density of the Alloy

Calculating alloy density is not difficult. You can use a list of alloy densities available online. If you don't find the alloy you want, you can inform us about the aluminum alloy you want. The most common alloys used for architectural profiles, window and door frames and other aspects of building construction are 6063 and 6060.

In this example, if you are using a 6063 alloy for the profile, the weight per meter should be:

700  x 0.0027 = 1.89

Note that the density used for this calculation is kg/cm cubed. This is to make the calculation simple. If you find the densities on other websites, you will discover that they are listed in g/cm cubed. This number can be divided by 1000.

Calculate the Weight per Meter

Now that you have worked out the weight per meter, you need to find the total weight of each length of your aluminum profile. You can easily do this by multiplying the kg/m by the length of the profile.

So if you have a profile with a rectangular cross section and you ordered for a 7 meter length, the weight of the profile will be:

1.89 kg/m x 7 m = 13.23 kg

If you now order a batch of profiles with 100 units of this profile length and weight, the total weight will be

100 x 13.23 kg = 1323 kg or 1.323 metric tons.

Those are the simple steps involved in calculating the weight of the aluminum profiles you order from a supplier. Note that some packaging materials may also add a little more to the gross weight of the product during shipping.