Taber Extrusions, an NMLP group company, installed a new friction stir welding (FSW) line at its Russellville, Arkansas, manufacturing facility for the aerospace, rail, automotive, marine, transportation, and other industries. With this machine, Taber will be able to weld large double sided thick profiles with minimal cycles of the machine, providing greater efficiency and more precise results. […]
The Falcon 9 launch system, developed by SpaceX, is considered to be one of the most significant technological achievements in the history of rocket engineering, primarily due to the recoverability and reusability of its first stage boosters. Reusability is a key element to SpaceX’s aim of increasing the reliability and reducing the cost of spaceflight. […]
By James C. LaBelle, CSD Structural Engineers, and Tanya A. Dolby, Kawneer Company. Introduction Recent developments, including testing and analysis, have resulted in an increased understanding of the pull-out strength of screws installed in screw chases in aluminum extrusions.1-3 One common use of this type of connection is to secure a continuous retainer that in […]
UC Rusal and RusHydro, one of Russia’s largest generating companies, commissioned the first potline at the Boguchansky aluminum smelter (BoAZ), part of the Boguchany Energy and Metals Complex (BEMO). It is also the first example of a large scale public-private partnership in Russia. “The launch of the first production line of the Boguchansky aluminum smelter is […]
Jakar ehf, located in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, introduced Ísar — the country’s first aluminum-intensive vehicle. Mostly comprised of Icelandic-produced aluminum, the vehicle is a super jeep made for rugged terrain. It is 8.2 ft wide and 18.7 ft long and can seat up to 20 people. Weighing in at just under 3 tonnes, the vehicle is lightweight […]
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 […]
Engineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering developed a method for welding AA7075 alloy. Developed in the 1940s for the automotive industry, the alloy that is nearly as strong and one-third its weight, but traditionally has been almost impossible to weld together using the techniques commonly used by auto makers for the assembly of […]
