As the recently granted U.S. patents presented here indicate, the additive manufacturing (AM) of aluminum and other light metals is evolving rapidly from what was just two decades ago mainly a prototyping process to a production process that involves automotive, aerospace, medical, and various domestic product industries. In my LMA article from February 2018 on AM […]
Eric Westlund
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October 2021
Cover A magnetic stirring system installed within the double-chamber melting furnace at ABC Aluminum Solutions in Tijuana, Mexico. The company recently started operation of its new remelt and casting operation, which provides safe and environmentally friendly recycling of various scrap grades for the production of high quality billet. This billet is supplied to its nearby […]
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Editors Note: Aluminum recycling into ingots and shape castings rates as one of the most successful “green” technologies in the world. The data gathered by the Aluminum Association and the International Aluminum Institute (IAI) are impressive, noting that 90-95% less energy is used in recycling aluminum than in primary production from ore and some 75% […]
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Posted in:
August 2021
Cover Billet being removed from the casting pit at Matalco’s new remelt and casting facility in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. The new facility is capable of producing 250 million lbs of billet per year and is part of a larger expansion project across North America. Articles Matalco Launches New Remelt Plant in Wisconsin: Continues Massive Expansion […]
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Editor’s Note: Much has changed in the automotive world since the last time that Light Metal Age spotlighted patents focused on the role of aluminum in electric vehicles (EVs). More and more automakers and suppliers are devoting their intellectual and financial resources toward EV production. As a result, automakers are displacing or at least minimizing […]
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Cover Casting of aluminum billet at Western Extrusions’ new casthouse in Carrollton, TX. The new automated casting line enables the extruder to control its own billet supply, increase its use of recycled scrap, achieve high sustainability, and ensure the safety of its personnel. See article on page 6. Articles Western Extrusions’ New Highly Automated Casthouse […]
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Editor’s Note: As a manufacturing process where metal is hot or cold pressed under great pressures in the solid state to produce three dimensional parts, forging has long been associated with high quality wrought aluminum products. The recent patents below cover aluminum forgings used throughout the transportation industry, from aerospace to automotive to bicycles, as […]
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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 […]