ET ’12, the Tenth International Aluminum Extrusion Technology Seminar & Exposition, will be held May 15-18, 2012 in Miami, FL. Occurring only every four years, ET is the definitive seminar series for the aluminum extrusion industry. The four-day educational event attracts upwards of 1,300 industry professionals from all over the world.

Light Metal Age (LMA) was selected to be the Official Media Sponsor of ET ’12 by the ET Foundation, and is proud to share our 70 years of experience at the conference and exposition.

LMA will be in attendance at the ET ’12 exhibition, where an updated version of the Aluminum Extrusion Archive will be made available. The archive is a comprehensive database with over 1,000 aluminum extrusion-focused articles, editorial, and news items that appeared in the pages of LMA, which will be updated to include articles from the magazine’s inception in 1943 through to the current May/June 2012 issue. Come visit us at Booth #213.

In addition, Dr. Joseph Benedyk, LMA editor and research professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, will be presenting his paper, DA149: “Review of Past Innovations and Recent Improvements in Aluminum Extrusion Production: from Alloy to Process Development.”

Abstract: Recent improvements in the aluminum extrusion process aimed at raising productivity and quality are reviewed. From aluminum alloy development through the entire extrusion process chain – beginning with ingot casting and billet preparation, tooling selection, optimizing extrusion parameters, and ending with age hardening – there is an interdependence of material and process variables that provide the means of maximizing productivity, reducing scrap, and raising extrusion quality. Many of these developments have been described in articles that have appeared in Light Metal Age in the past 70 years. None of these developments would have been possible without the historical achievements of extruders in previous decades that have left a legacy of trial and error on which modern improvements depend. The pathway from trial and error to discovery on some of these extrusion chain developments is examined by reviewing many of the aluminum extrusion articles that have appeared in Light Metal Age in past issues.  

For more infomormation about ET ’12, visit www.et12.com.