The most primitive production method of metal foil is the hammer forging method used by ancient people, that is, stacking hundreds of thin metal plates and forging them by hand. This method used to produce metal foils such as gold, silver, lead, and tin.
The first discovery of aluminum was in 1825, when Waters used a chemical method to treat aluminum oxide and obtained a small amount of aluminum for the first time.
The surface quality and thickness uniformity of the produced aluminum foil have been greatly improved, thus laying a good foundation for the industrialization of aluminum foil.
In 1933, the British Robert Company manufactured the world's first quadruple aluminum foil rolling mill with a maximum design rolling speed of 305m/min, and the production efficiency was rapidly improved. The surface quality and thickness uniformity of the produced aluminum foil products are much better than the double rolling mill. Until now, aluminum foil products are still mainly produced by the quadruple rolling mill.
By the 1960s, with the continuous improvement of people's production level and the increase in demand for aluminum foil products, the aluminum foil industry has developed rapidly. The production of aluminum foil is developing in the direction of high speed, large roll and wide width. The designed maximum speed of the aluminum foil finishing mill has reached 1524m/min, and the maximum width has reached 1956mm.
After entering the 1980s, the aluminum foil rolling mill has begun to adopt computer automatic control technology with the automatic control system (AFC) and automatic thickness control system (AGC) as the core, which has improved the output, quality and production efficiency of aluminum foil to a new level. Level.
In the 21st century, the world's aluminum foil industry represented by China has developed more rapidly. By 2006, the global aluminum foil production capacity has reached 4033kt/a, the maximum width of aluminum foil has reached more than 2000mm, and the maximum rolling speed has exceeded 2000m/min.