Extruded Aluminium Housings for LED Luminaires and Light Engines

LED lumen output is directly hostage to junction temperature, and the housing is the heat sink. That makes the luminaire body the component that decides whether a fitting reaches its claimed 50,000-hour life or fails early. Extrusion is the natural process here: long lengths, fine fins, and no per-fin machining cost. The hard parts are straightness over long lengths and consistency of the thermal interface.

What makes this enclosure difficult

These are the failure modes we see most often in this application — and the ones we design against from the first section drawing:

• Straightness over long lengths. A linear profile that bows looks wrong and mounts badly, and it gets worse if residual stress is not managed.
• Thermal path from board to fin. The LED PCB mounting face has to be flat and clean or the whole heat sink underperforms.
• Outdoor weathering versus indoor cosmetics. Exterior fittings need coating durability; architectural interior fittings need colour consistency.
• Cost per metre. Lighting is extremely price sensitive and often quoted per metre of profile.

How we handle it

Fin geometry designed around the wattage

Tell us the dissipated power, mounting orientation and whether the fitting is convection-cooled or enclosed, and we will propose a fin section that the press can hold. Fins from 0.3 mm are routine; we will be honest when an aspect ratio is beyond stable volume production.

Flat, clean LED board mounting face

The interface to the LED PCB is machined for flatness and a fine finish, so thermal interface material stays thin and the board sits true. This is the single detail that most often separates a fitting that meets its life claim from one that does not.

Straightness managed from extrusion through handling

Long linear sections are extruded, stretched and handled with straightness in mind, and we check it rather than assuming it. If your mounting method is sensitive to bow we will discuss the tolerance explicitly at quotation stage.

Finish matched to the installation

Anodising for indoor architectural fittings where appearance and thermal radiation matter; powder coating for exterior and industrial fittings where UV and corrosion resistance come first. We will flag if a specified coating thickness would measurably insulate a thermal surface.

Cut-to-length for fixture assembly

±0.005 mm cut-to-length means profiles arrive ready for end-cap and driver assembly without rework.

Capability that matters here

Parameter	Typical capability	Why it matters
Fin thickness	From 0.3 mm	More convection area per metre
Profile length	Standard mill lengths, cut to size	Matches fixture dimensions
LED board mounting face	Machined for flatness	Thin, uniform thermal interface
Cut-to-length accuracy	±0.005 mm	No rework before end-cap assembly
Finishes	Anodising, powder coating	Indoor appearance or outdoor durability
Base alloy	6063-T5	~209 W/m·K, fine fin detail

Typical parts we make for this industry

• LED tube (T5/T8 retrofit) housings
• Linear architectural luminaire profiles
• High-bay and industrial fitting heat sinks
• Floodlight and area light bodies
• Track light and downlight heat sink bodies
• Grow light and horticultural luminaire profiles

Material and finish

6063-T5 is standard across lighting — it extrudes into fine fins and gives a uniform anodised finish. 6061 is used only where the luminaire body is also a structural element.

Our polish-free 6063 route runs primary billet from a state-owned mill through ceramic filtration, degassing and homogenising, so the profile goes straight to 180# blasting and anodising with no polishing stage — typically around 15% less finishing cost. We deliberately do not take high-pressure die-casting work; all capacity goes into extruded profile and precision machining.

Questions buyers in this industry ask

Can you design the heat sink section around our thermal target?

Yes. Give us the LED wattage, driver losses, mounting orientation, ambient range and available envelope, and we will propose a fin section and tell you what we expect it to achieve. If your target cannot be met by extrusion within the envelope, we will say so at that stage.

How is straightness handled on long linear profiles?

Through extrusion practice, stretching and handling, with inspection rather than assumption. If your mounting has a low tolerance for bow, tell us at quotation stage so the requirement is explicit and checked rather than implied.

Anodising or powder coating for outdoor fittings?

Usually powder coating for exterior and industrial fittings — UV and corrosion resistance matter more than the thermal emissivity benefit of anodising. For indoor architectural work anodising usually wins on appearance. We will flag it if a specified coating would insulate a surface that needs to dissipate heat.

Where we ship these

Other industries we serve