Built up aluminium letters
Are you sure you want to specify built up aluminium lettering?
This sounds like a strange question; you are looking for aluminium built up lettering so you have visited this page.
This question is, however extremely important. For reasons which we will explain aluminium may not be the best choice for your built up lettering.
The problem with using aluminium as a built up lettering material.
The fundamental problem with aluminium as a built up lettering material is the joining process. As with all built up lettering products we are working with two component parts; the display face and the side return.
Whilst there is no problem machining the letter faces and returns and then forming the cut return strips there is a fundamental problem joining these two component parts together to form the finished aluminium built up lettering.
Aluminium built up lettering cannot be welded.
The metal thicknesses used for built up letter production are thin, no more than 1.2mm. Aluminium is a notoriously difficult metal to weld successfully. This difficult job becomes virtually impossible on thin gauges of aluminium sheet; burn marks and burn through is inevitable. To all intents and purposes welding as a jointing technique is out.
Aluminium built up lettering cannot be brazed.
Another possible way of joining the aluminium faces to the side returns is by use of brazing. This entails getting both parts of the aluminium built up letter very hot, cherry Red hot in fact. Again the thin gauges used in built up lettering come back to cause a problem; brazing such thin metal to such high temperatures causes the built up letter parts to distort and sometimes melt. This joining method is also out.
Aluminium built up lettering cannot be glued.
The only realistic way to join component parts of an aluminium built up letter is via liquid structural adhesives. Aluminium built up lettering is offered by other suppliers and this, in all probability is the joining method employed.
We will not use structural adhesives for aluminium built up lettering or for any other joining task either.
From our own experience we can tell you that structural adhesives simply don't live up to the sales hype. Ask any structural adhesive supplier to guarantee the performance of their product and you will find they won't.
A better alternative to aluminium.
Stainless steel is the best material to use for any metal built up lettering project.
Aluminium built up lettering in it's raw state cannot be used without painting- so there is no advantage to the use of aluminium.
Example
Take this Blue letter h for example. This type of coloured built up lettering is the application most people would select as being suitable for aluminium built up lettering. In fact this letter is stainless steel painted Blue- can you see the difference?
When in it comes to the finished lettering you will not be able to discern any difference between aluminium and stainless steel- the only thing you will notice is that there is no structural adhesive to fail.
Aluminium sheet costs around the same as stainless steel so there is no cost advantage to aluminium built up lettering.
Any letter shape that can be made in aluminium can also be made in stainless steel; there is no advantage in aluminium here either.
We use a reliable welding process for all metal built up lettering.
By switching your specification from aluminium built up lettering to stainless steel built up lettering we can use our tried and tested joining techniques which involve NO suspect structural adhesives.
As we have seen there is no real reason to use aluminium built up letters, stainless steel does the job better in our opinion.
Why take the chance of adhesive failures on aluminium built up lettering when there is a proven alternative?