Eric Westlund

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    Latest Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum

    Editor’s Note: As many Light Metal Age articles and items have noted, the friction stir welding (FSW) process, which joins aluminum components in the solid state, has been applied throughout the world in various industries that produce products for transportation, B&C, and industrial and consumer sectors. The November 2020 selection of patents covered a wide […]

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    April 2021

    Cover Aluminum profiles coated using the sublimation process at Benkam Alu Extrusions in Uzbekistan. The company is currently launching a massive multi-year expansion project, which will increase its extrusion, surface finishing, and fabrication capacities. See article on page 6. Articles Benkam Launches Multi-Year Expansion to Increase Extrusion Capacity Page 6 Aluminum Cross Members for Weight […]

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    Productive and Sustainable Alumina Production

    Editor’s Note: On August 3rd, 1888, Austrian chemist Karl Josef Bayer working in Saint Petersburg, Russia was granted German patent 43977 for his invention involving a process for the production of aluminum hydroxide. At the time, his invention was used by the textile industry that made use of aluminum hydroxide as a dye fixative. Other […]

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    February 2021

    Cover Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) began producing aluminum using power from a massive solar plant in the UAE. The company has started selling its solar aluminum, with BMW being its first customer. (Top photo by DEWA, bottom photos by BMW.) Articles Tables/Primary Aluminum Industry in the Year 2020 By Rudolf P. Pawlek Page 6 Casthouse […]

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    Magnesium Alloy Process Developments and Applications

    Editor’s Note: Although the focused patent surveys in Light Metal Age have generally covered select aluminum technologies, magnesium alloy technology has generally been sidelined. Nevertheless, magnesium is a major alloying master alloy in aluminum casthouse production and critical to the reduction of light metals, such as titanium and beryllium. Therefore, this patent survey aims to […]

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    Resistance Spot Welding of Automotive Aluminum Alloy Sheet

    Resistance spot welding (RSW), a technology that’s at least 100 years old, has been used by the automotive industry almost exclusively for joining steel sheet without using filler material or flux. The process utilizes shaped copper alloy electrodes, typically water cooled, to apply heat and pressure to pass electric current through stacked up sheets to […]

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    December 2020

    Cover Teammates Nick Harris, electrical automation technician (left), and Caleb Nunley, maintenance operator (right), enthusiastically display the first production coil from JW Aluminum’s new continuous casting and rolling operation in Goose Creek, SC. See story on page 6. Articles JW Aluminum Launches Advanced Continuous Casting and Rolling Facility: Collaboration Ensures Success Despite Challenges By Andrea […]

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    Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys

    Editor’s Note: As many articles have appeared in Light Metal Age (both in the magazine and online) describing and following the friction stir welding (FSW) process, especially its application in joining aluminum alloys in various forms and tempers, readers should be familiar with its advantages. In the FSW process, aluminum components are joined in the solid […]