Aluminum masts, etc are expensive initially because the cost to build a die is high. Mast blanks must be ordered in large groups to keep costs low. It costs a lot to change mast profiles ie buy a new die. There are definite quality control issues with aluminum masts, i.e. different weights etc. They need to be anodized.
Interestingly enough, the die costs aren't that high in a relative sense. As a matter of fact the mould costs, needed for carbon mast production, are much higher.
I know as I've been involved in some actually production runs of Superwing alu masts and alu beams.
It even turned out that there is no reason why a new die can't be made with each new batch of 30 to 40 masts.
Quality control issues are indeed encountered in alu mast extrusion but this can be solved by just picking the best masts out of a batch and resmelting the left-overs. For the costs per mast this is no biggie at all. Think of it this way a batch of 30 alu masts incl die fabrication, anodising and shipping will only get you 3 to 4 carbon mast blanks without mould costs or shipping costs. So even if you discard halve of the alu mast per batch (which is waaaay more then you need too) then still the alu mast is 5 to 4 times less expensive then carbon. And that this doesn't include the cost for carbon mast mould yet.
Wouter
