Automotive is a key pillar of Constellium’s overall strategy, accounting for 24% of the company’s sales in 2018 with further growth expected in the near future. This growth is reflected in the company’s recent investments in its global Automotive Structures business unit, with two new plants in Mexico and Slovakia. These new facilities enable the […]
By Patricia Smith, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Jack Cowie and John Weritz, The Aluminum Association. Introduction Additive manufacturing (AM) technology, or 3D printing, is the process of producing a three-dimensional component from a computer-aided design (CAD) model by adding material layer by layer. AM technology was originally developed for polymers in the 1980s. Metal powder […]
By Hank Sattlethight, Aluminum Association. The aluminum extrusion industry in the U.S. and Canada shipped 5.51 billion lbs of extruded products in 2018 and surpassed the industry peak shipments of 2006 by more than 3% (Figure 1). Domestic demand for extruded products, which includes imports, totaled 5.65 billion lbs in 2018, up 5% over 2017 […]
By Alton Tabereaux, Contributing Editor. The largest waste by-product generated in the Bayer bauxite refining process is bauxite residue, commonly called red mud. An enormous quantity of caustic red mud is generated worldwide every year, posing a very serious and alarming environmental and safety problem. The storage of red mud is a challenge for alumina […]
By Lynn Brown, Contributing Editor. In order for automotive OEMs and Tier suppliers to develop aluminum applications for cars and trucks, they need to understand the capabilities of existing designs, whether sheet, extrusions, or castings, etc. Analyzing the use of aluminum in existing production vehicles to see how they compare is one way for a […]
By Michael Niedzinski, Constellium. During the past 60 years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) charted the western world’s course for the exploration of outer space. NASA managed and funded programs such as Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and the International Space Station, which is supported by Space Shuttle missions and more recently by the Space […]
The automotive industry relies on the stamping process for rapid production of deep drawn sheet components for its mass-market vehicles. However, as automakers develop increasingly advanced components, aluminum sheet is challenged compared to steel due to its lower formability. The superplastic forming process is a potential solution as it provides the ability to produce deep […]
By Curt Wells and Paul O’Connor, The Aluminum Association. Aluminum recycling provides significant societal environmental benefit in terms of landfilled waste reduction and the energy consumption/emissions avoided as compared to aluminum produced from virgin ore. However, aluminum recycling also generates waste products and these are referred to as secondary aluminum processing wastes, which are comprised […]
As UC Rusal’s largest aluminum facility, the Krasnoyarsk (KRAZ) aluminum smelter in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, has become a significant site for innovation within the company with improvements ongoing. In 2018, the company commissioned a new casting complex there for the production of large diameter billet. The company invested US$40 million in the construction of the casthouse […]
