---
title: "Anodising for Extruded Profiles — Architecture, Solar & Rail | Saravana Consultancy"
description: >-
  Long-profile anodising in India: architectural fenestration and coastal chalking, solar mounting structures at 15 microns, and metro coach interior profiles against an FY27 localisation deadline.
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  html: "https://www.saravanaconsultancy.in/applications/profile-anodising-plant"
  md: "https://www.saravanaconsultancy.in/applications/profile-anodising-plant.md"
last_modified: 2026-08-20
---

# Anodising for extruded profiles — architecture, solar and rail

The same 6–7 metre tanks serve window sections, solar mounting rails and metro interiors. What changes between them is the specification that decides whether you win the work.

The long-profile line is the largest capital decision of the four archetypes and the one with the widest range of end markets. The same 6–7 metre tanks serve window sections, curtain wall, solar mounting rails and metro coach interiors — but the specification that decides whether you win the work is different in each.

## Architecture and fenestration

India's fenestration market is around ₹40,000 crore and the premium end is growing roughly 15% a year, faster than the market as a whole. That premium tier is where anodised finish stops being a preference and becomes an entry requirement.

The recurring failures are not mysterious: chalking on coastal exposure, colour drift along a six-metre profile, and adhesion failures traced back to recycled alloy variability and undisciplined pre-treatment rather than to the coating step itself. The specification argument usually comes down to [AAMA 2603/2604/2605 powder](/blog/aama-2603-2604-2605-powder-coating-comparison) against [AAMA 611 or IS 1868 anodising](/blog/aama-611-vs-is-1868-anodize-standard-comparison) — and the honest answer depends on exposure, not on preference. See [architectural anodising](/blog/anodising-for-architectural-aluminium-india) and [anodising vs powder coating](/blog/anodizing-vs-powder-coating-which-to-choose-india).

## Solar mounting structures

Here anodising is **specified, not chosen**. Module mounting structures and frames are typically 6063-T5 with a minimum anodising thickness — commonly 15 microns or more — against a 25-year service expectation, wind loads to 2,400 Pa and mechanical loads to 5,400 Pa under IEC 61730.

The specification detail is in [anodising specification for solar mounting structures](/blog/solar-mounting-structure-anodising-specification).

The commercial problem is that these projects are won on price and warranted for a quarter of a century. Coastal and cyclone-exposed sites are where thin or poorly sealed coatings surface as warranty claims five years later. Thickness verification and sealing quality are the two controls that matter, and [eddy-current thickness measurement](/blog/anodize-coating-thickness-measurement-eddy-current) is the practical check.

## Rail and metro

Each metro coach uses roughly 6–8 tonnes of extruded aluminium, and a single 30-train line consumes around 1,500 tonnes. More than 25 Indian cities now have metro networks operating or under construction, and coach manufacture is being localised — Titagarh is targeting fully domestic aluminium coach production by FY27, against supply that has largely been imported.

How the two finishes fail differently on a surface passengers grip daily, and why qualification rather than capacity is the barrier, is in [metro coach interior profiles](/blog/metro-coach-interior-profiles-anodised-or-powder).

Operators require interior profiles to be **anodised or powder-coated** for abrasion resistance and appearance while still working as structural members. That is the same specification argument as architecture, in a vertical where the incumbent supply is imported and a localisation deadline is already set. For a supplier without an anodising history, the barrier is qualification and first-article approval, not capacity.

## What a profile line costs

Set the archetype to **Long profile** in the [plant cost and payback calculator](/calculators/anodizing-plant-cost). Tank length follows your longest profile, which is why an architectural line at 6–7 metres costs substantially more than a general engineering line doing the same square metres per day.

Extruders evaluating a captive line should use **Captive** mode and add the unlocked-market figure. For most extruders that term is the whole case: the outsourcing saved is real but modest, while the premium tier that opens up is the reason the board approves it.

If you know the plant you want and need the numbers before a serious internal conversation, the [plant setup snapshot](/services/plant-setup-snapshot) is a ₹2,500 written feasibility note in three working days, credited against Phase 0.