| Press Capacity | Nominal pressing force | Common hot extrusion hydraulic presses cover approximately 1,000 to 20,000 metric tonnes, depending on material, billet size, and product cross-section. | Check the guaranteed working force, maximum force, return force, and continuous operating force. Confirm that the selected capacity is calculated from the actual alloy, billet diameter, extrusion ratio, and profile geometry. | 15% | Higher tonnage alone does not guarantee higher productivity or better product quality. |
| Product Compatibility | Material and product range | A suitable line should be configured for the target materials, such as aluminum, copper, brass, steel, titanium, or nickel-based alloys. | Request a written compatibility matrix covering alloy grades, billet diameter, maximum extrusion ratio, profile dimensions, product length, and permitted temperature range. | 12% | A press optimized for aluminum may not be suitable for copper alloys or steel without major configuration changes. |
| Billet System | Billet diameter and length | Typical commercial systems use billet diameters selected according to the press size and product requirements; many lines are designed for billets from roughly 100 to 500 mm in diameter. | Compare billet loader design, billet length tolerance, centering accuracy, transfer time, discard handling, and compatibility with the customer's existing billet furnace or saw. | 8% | Billet dimensions must be matched with container diameter, tooling, and heating capacity. |
| Heating Performance | Billet heating temperature and uniformity | The required temperature depends on the alloy. Aluminum extrusion billets are commonly heated to approximately 400–500°C; copper and steel require substantially higher process temperatures. | Check furnace zoning, temperature-control accuracy, heating time, temperature uniformity, pyrometer arrangement, and the availability of recorded temperature data for each billet. | 10% | The correct temperature range must be established for the specific alloy and tooling combination. |
| Extrusion Speed | Ram speed and production speed | Hydraulic ram speeds vary widely. Typical systems may provide a controllable working speed from approximately 1 to 20 mm/s, while some applications require higher rapid-approach speeds. | Compare rapid approach, working speed, piercing speed where applicable, speed stability, programmable speed profiles, and the supplier's guaranteed output for representative products. | 10% | Maximum speed is less important than stable speed control during the actual extrusion stroke. |
| Productivity | Cycle time and output | Actual output depends on billet preparation, heating, extrusion ratio, product length, tool changes, cooling, cutting, and handling. Compare complete line cycle time rather than press cycle time alone. | Request a production simulation or acceptance-test calculation including billets per hour, kilograms per hour, scrap rate, die-change time, and planned maintenance stoppages. | 12% | Ask suppliers to use the same product specification when comparing output figures. |
| Hydraulic System | Pressure stability and efficiency | A modern system should provide stable pressure control, overload protection, filtration, cooling, and hydraulic components sized for continuous duty. | Review pump type, pressure rating, oil filtration level, tank capacity, oil-cooling method, leakage protection, pressure-holding performance, and maintenance intervals. | 8% | Hydraulic efficiency affects energy consumption, oil temperature, noise, and long-term reliability. |
| Automation | Control and data logging | A complete line normally includes PLC-based control, HMI operation, recipe management, alarm history, process monitoring, and interfaces for auxiliary equipment. | Confirm PLC and drive specifications, remote diagnostics, user-access levels, data export, recipe backup, communication protocols, and cybersecurity requirements. | 8% | The control platform should be supportable in the buyer's region for the expected service life. |
| Tooling and Changeover | Container, die, and tooling system | The line should accommodate the required container diameter, die stack, dummy block, stem, discard system, and die-change method. | Compare tool-change time, die preheating, container cleaning, dummy block changeover, alignment adjustment, tooling life, and availability of standard spare tooling. | 7% | Tooling compatibility has a direct effect on downtime and product consistency. |
| Safety | Machine safeguarding | The line should include guarding, interlocked doors, emergency stops, safe hydraulic states, thermal protection, pressure relief, and controlled access to hazardous zones. | Request the risk assessment, safety-circuit description, safeguarding layout, emergency-stop response, safety validation documents, and applicable conformity certificates. | 8% | Safety requirements vary by installation location and applicable legislation. |
| Energy and Utilities | Specific energy and utility demand | Compare total line consumption, including hydraulic power, billet heating, cooling, compressed air, and auxiliary equipment. Do not compare motor power alone. | Request connected load, average operating load, estimated kilowatt-hours per tonne, cooling-water flow, compressed-air consumption, and energy-saving operating modes. | 5% | Measured consumption should be verified during a production acceptance test. |
| Quality Assurance | Dimensional and surface consistency | Quality performance should be evaluated against the customer's product tolerances, surface-finish requirements, mechanical properties, and applicable material standards. | Review sample products, dimensional inspection records, process repeatability, temperature records, pressure curves, and the proposed factory-acceptance-test procedure. | 10% | Require measurable acceptance criteria instead of general statements about quality. |
| Service and Parts | Support response and spare-parts availability | A credible supplier should provide commissioning, operator training, preventive-maintenance instructions, troubleshooting support, and a defined spare-parts strategy. | Compare warranty duration, response time, local technicians, remote-support capability, recommended critical spares, parts lead times, and service pricing. | 10% | Long-term support can be more important than a small difference in initial purchase price. |
| Commercial Evaluation | Total cost of ownership | Evaluate purchase price together with installation, commissioning, tooling, utilities, energy, maintenance, spare parts, downtime, and expected service life. | Use the same scope of supply for every quotation and separate included items, optional items, exclusions, taxes, transportation, installation, and training costs. | 10% | The lowest initial quotation may have a higher lifecycle cost. |
| Supplier Due Diligence | Relevant project experience | The strongest evidence is successful delivery of comparable press capacity, material type, product geometry, automation level, and production volume. | Ask for anonymized reference projects, operating years, delivered line configuration, performance results, customer-reported availability, and permission to conduct reference checks. | 10% | Compare demonstrated results, not only catalog specifications. |
| Scoring Method | Weighted supplier score | Score each criterion from 1 to 5: 1 = unacceptable, 3 = meets the requirement, and 5 = clearly exceeds the requirement. | Calculate: Weighted Score = Criterion Score ÷ 5 × Criterion Weight. Shortlist suppliers only after technical compliance, safety, and total-cost checks. | 100% | A supplier should not compensate for a failed mandatory requirement with high scores in optional categories. |
