By Andrea Svendsen, Managing Editor. Rio Tinto produces aluminum billet used in the manufacture of profiles for the building and construction, automotive, and consumer durables industries. Most of this billet is sold to the North American market, with 60% going to the U.S. The company expects the automotive and transportation industries to be the main […]
By Joseph C. Benedyk, Editor. Introduction For decades, additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing (3DP), has grown and proliferated worldwide into a multibillion dollar industry encompassing many different technologies and types of materials. AM methods embody a group of emerging technologies that create a functional 3D object from any one of a variety […]
By Andrea Svendsen, Managing Editor. Hydro produced the first aluminum metal at its Karmøy Technology Pilot plant in Norway in January (Figure 1), where they aim to achieve the most climate and energy efficient aluminum smelting technology in the world. The HAL4e and HAL4e Ultra technology launched in Karmøy will use 15% less energy during […]
By Rose Eaton, Staff Writer. Located in Lexington, KY, Secat has for the last 17 years provided research, technology, and testing to support the aluminum industry. Through this work they came to recognize a need for education within the industry. Secat’s educational offerings seek to close the gap between those in engineering that may not […]
The Aluminum Association just released the 2017 Molten Metal Incident Report covering calendar year 2016. The report highlights the predominant hazards that result in explosions during molten aluminum management worldwide, incorporating roughly 300 aluminum plants in 20 countries. Though not a statistical representation of the industry due to the fact that incidents are voluntarily reported, […]
AMAG Austria Metall AG started up production of a new aluminum cold rolling mill in Ranshofen, Austria, as part of a massive expansion plan aimed at making the integrated company Europe’s most state-of-the-art aluminum manufacturer. The official opening of the new mill, along with heat treating and passivation capacity, was held on June 22, 2017 […]
For a number of years, the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) has conducted the annual Key Indicator Survey, which provided information on the press performance (pounds per press hour, scrap percentage, etc.) of participating AEC members. In early 2017, the AEC initiated a new survey program, the Press Productivity Survey, which replaces the prior version and […]
By J. Randolph Kissell, The TGB Partnership. In November 1967, the Aluminum Association published the first edition of the Specification for Aluminum Structures. The document’s purpose was to provide designers the means to calculate the strength of aluminum components in structural applications such as buildings, bridges, and transportation vehicles. Now in its 10th edition and […]
Taber Extrusions recently completed significant upgrades to their aluminum casthouse in Gulfport, MS (Figure 1), enabling the company to integrate its casting, extrusion, and fabrication services in-house. The upgrades provide Taber with the ability to improve the quality of its products throughout every step of the manufacturing process, which opens up opportunities in a variety […]
