How to specify aluminium extrusion gloves by job position, measured contact temperature, edge condition, EN 407 and EN 388 targets, with factory notes on materials, sampling, MOQ, AQL, Incoterms and export packing.
Start With the Job Position, Not a Catalogue Heat Claim
Do not source aluminium extrusion gloves from one heat-resistant catalogue line. A puller guiding 6063-T5 profile at the run-out table, a saw operator clearing burr-heavy offcuts and a packer sleeving cooled anodised sections need different gloves. The billet and die area may sit above 450 C, but the hand contact point after quench, cooling bed travel, stretching and cutting is usually far lower. One-second sliding contact at 250 C is not the same job as repeated gripping at 120 C for 8 seconds. For aluminium extrusion gloves we normally split the line into three zones. Zone 1 is short contact above 250 C, usually pullers, stretcher crews and workers occasionally correcting hot profile near run-out. Zone 2 is repeated contact around 100-250 C at saws, racks, spacers and transfer tables. Zone 3 is below 100 C, where the main problems are sharp fins, mitred ends, black aluminium oxide, coolant, saw burrs and handling marks on powder-coated or anodised profile. A 15-gauge nitrile micro-foam cut glove may be right for Zone 3 and dangerous for Zone 1. A double-layer aramid gauntlet may protect against heat but fail in packing because it slows sleeve fitting, gasket insertion and label work.
Materials That Actually Survive Hot Aluminium Profile
For hot profile contact, serious materials are para-aramid fabric, aramid terry knit, split cowhide reinforcement and insulation layers such as cotton jersey, wool felt or aramid felt. For sewn puller gloves we commonly quote 7 oz, 8 oz or 10 oz aramid fabric, 1.2-1.4 mm split cowhide palm patches, reinforced thumb crotches and aramid sewing thread. Polyester thread is cheaper, but it is a weak point near hot aluminium. The sample can look clean, then the palm patch opens after sliding contact because the thread has degraded first. Cuff length is usually 10 cm or 15 cm. Longer cuffs help around sharp profile corners and light radiant heat near saws, but they increase carton volume and reduce wrist movement. Aramid terry gloves are useful for quick turning, spacer placement and short grabs. A 7-gauge terry loop gives more thermal buffer than a flat 13-gauge liner, while 10-gauge terry can be a better balance where workers need finger movement. The weakness is contamination. Terry loops trap swarf, graphite marks, coolant mist and black oxide. For cooled packing work, we normally move away from heat gloves and specify a 13-gauge or 15-gauge cut-resistant liner using HPPE, glass fibre, steel fibre, polyester or nylon blends, then add nitrile micro-foam, sandy nitrile or PU. Nitrile handles light oil better than latex. PU gives good dry fingertip feel, but it is not the first choice for oily saw areas. PVC dots improve dry grip on cold profile, but they can soften, smear or polish off if the worker touches metal still above the coating limit.
EN 407 and EN 388 Need Exact Digits
For European PPE files, buyers should write EN 407:2020 and EN 388:2016+A1:2018 as separate requirements. EN 407 reports six positions: limited flame spread, contact heat, convective heat, radiant heat, small splashes of molten metal and large quantities of molten metal. Aluminium extrusion is usually a contact heat, abrasion and cut problem, not the same risk as foundry pouring. Asking for molten metal splash performance on a glove used only for extruded profile often adds bulk, cost and testing difficulty without improving the fit for the job. EN 407 contact heat is tested at set levels such as 100 C, 250 C, 350 C and 500 C with a defined temperature-rise limit during the test. That result is a laboratory comparison, not permission to hold a 350 C profile while waiting for a crane or clamp adjustment. Line pressure, contact area, edge radius, moisture inside the glove, aluminium wall thickness and whether the worker slides or grips all change the burn risk. EN 388 should be written as abrasion, coupe cut, tear, puncture and ISO 13997 cut letter, for example 4X43C or 4X44D. For saw burrs and sharp fins, ISO cut C or D is usually more useful than chasing the old coupe number. We do not print CE, UKCA or EN digits from memory or from a similar glove. If a buyer needs EU PPE Category II documentation, the RFQ must include accredited third-party testing, technical file preparation and the notified or approved body route before bulk production.
Specify Pullers, Saw Operators and Packers Separately
Puller gloves need sliding-contact protection more than neat fingertip feel. A practical starting pattern is a sewn aramid glove with split leather palm patch, reinforced thumb crotch, wing thumb or keystone thumb, and a 10-15 cm gauntlet or safety cuff. The palm patch matters because pullers often guide or drag profile rather than lift it cleanly. A plant may be heavy on size 10, but guessing the split creates dead stock. If the glove is too stiff, workers cut the cuff shorter or switch to their own glove, which means the purchasing specification has failed. Saw operators need control for clamps, guards, tape measures, marker pens and short offcuts. A shorter 7 cm cuff, pre-curved fingers and reinforced index finger may improve compliance more than another insulation layer. Where coolant, cutting oil or fine swarf are present, many plants use two gloves: a nitrile-coated cut glove for setup and measuring, plus a separate aramid or leather-reinforced hot glove for hot offcuts. Packers usually reject heavy gauntlets because they cannot feel thin-wall sections, protective film edges, rubber gaskets or carton sleeves. For cooled profile, a 13-gauge or 15-gauge nitrile micro-foam glove with EN 388 cut C or D often gives better wear rate and fewer dropped sections. One glove for puller, saw and packing looks tidy in an ERP system, but it usually creates complaints on the bench and poor actual use.
Sampling: What GloveMark Can and Cannot Prove
We do not operate an aluminium extrusion press, cast billets or certify EN 407 in-house. Formal EN 407, EN 388, CE or UKCA work must go through an accredited third-party lab and, where required, a notified or approved body. The buyer should include that cost and time in the RFQ before price negotiation, not after the pre-production sample is approved. A useful sample brief includes alloy and temper, such as 6063-T5 or 6061-T6, profile shape, measured contact temperature at the hand point, maximum contact time in seconds, whether the worker grips, slides or only touches, edge condition after sawing, oil or coolant exposure, cuff length, wash requirement, target EN 388 digits and desired EN 407 contact heat level. Existing-material samples normally take 7-14 days before international courier. A new die-cut leather patch, special woven cuff label, uncommon aramid fabric or new dipped coating trial can take 3-4 weeks. One sample cannot represent the whole extrusion line.
MOQ, Price Drivers, AQL and Export Packing
MOQ depends on construction, size range and branding. Knitted dipped packing gloves can often start at about 1,200-3,000 pairs per colour with a practical size mix. Sewn aramid or leather-reinforced hot gloves usually make sense from 500-1,000 pairs per style because fabric cutting, leather waste, sewing minutes and material purchasing are higher. Private label cuffs, woven labels, heat-transfer logos, printed polybags and carton marks are possible. A five-size, three-colour order with custom retail packaging can spend too much money on setup before the glove is proven on the line. Price is driven by aramid content, leather grade, insulation thickness, cuff length, coating type, test requirements and labour minutes per pair. A 13-gauge HPPE nitrile micro-foam packing glove sits in a different cost class from a double-layer aramid gauntlet with 1.4 mm split leather, felt insulation and aramid thread. Critical defects such as open seams in heat zones, exposed hard stitching, mixed sizes in one polybag, wrong fibre content marking or unauthorised CE marking are not treated as normal minor defects. Export terms are usually FOB Ningbo or FOB Shanghai, with EXW Yiwu or FCA warehouse available for buyers using their own consolidator. Heat gloves cube out quickly. A 60 x 40 x 45 cm carton may hold only 60-120 pairs of heavy aramid gauntlets, while a similar carton can hold several hundred thin dipped packing gloves. For LCL shipments, carton dimensions, gross weight, pallet height and mixed PPE consolidation can affect landed cost more than the unit price difference between two glove options. The right aluminium extrusion gloves are not the hottest glove in the catalogue. They are the glove matched to measured contact temperature, edge risk, dexterity, replacement budget and the worker position where they will actually be worn.
Confirm the specification in writing
Use this article as a starting point. Ask GloveMark for written, project-specific confirmation of materials, MOQ, pricing, sample policy, certification scope and lead time before placing an order.
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