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  • Almex USA Melting Furnace

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    Trends in Secondary Aluminum Casthouses

    By Alicia Hartlieb and Martin Hartlieb, Viami International Inc., and Julio Quintero, Conticast Hormesa LLC. Introduction Traditionally, primary casthouses solidified the molten primary aluminum from the smelter’s potlines into pure ingot or sow, or they produced alloyed ingot, billet, or slab. Secondary casthouses served to convert scrap into secondary aluminum ingot, billet, or slab. Today, […]

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    Top Ten Light Metal News Stories of 2023

    Each year, Light Metal Age (LMA) enjoys looking back at the top ten most viewed news stories that we published on our website, highlighting the trends that have affected the aluminum sector over the previous year. In 2023, these top articles and news stories reveal recent trends and developments, including an interest in advanced technologies for […]

  • Figure 1. A Tesla Model Y giga-casting. (Source: S. Munro.)

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    The Impact of Giga-Castings on Car Manufacturing and Aluminum Content

    By Alicia Hartlieb and Martin Hartlieb, Viami International Inc. Numerous studies, especially from Ducker-Carlisle, have shown that aluminum usage in light vehicles has been growing for decades, having surpassed 500 lbs (227 kg) per light vehicle in North America and 396 lbs (180 kg) per vehicle in Europe. Until now, castings have been the predominant […]

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    Ronal Group Introduces Carbon Neutral Recycled Aluminum Wheel

    By Martin Hartlieb, Viami International Inc. Shifting legal regulations and changing expectations and demands from customers are increasingly affecting the automotive industry and its entire supply chain. As a result, the carbon footprint of automotive OEMs and their suppliers and their products are increasingly coming into focus. In the face of these changing perceptions regarding […]

  • Greenwashing aluminum industry

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    Addressing the Problem of Greenwashing in the Aluminum Industry

    By Subodh Das, Phinix, LLC, and Martin Hartlieb, Viami International Inc. Environmental sustainability has become a major trend across aluminum and other industries. A vast majority of companies are aspiring to achieve lower carbon resources in their operations and products, based on circular economy and Paris Agreement parameters. Generally, this trend is positive. However, while […]

  • Figure 5. An EV sill comprised of an 10 ft long extruded profile, produced by HAI to very tight tolerances using automatic straightening.

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    Straightening Complex Aluminum Profiles

    By Philipp Hettich, Laubinger + Rickmann GmbH & Co. KG, and Martin Hartlieb, Viami International Inc. Extrusions are increasingly used for complex parts in the transportation industry. They allow for very complex cross-sectional shapes and, therefore, integration of different parts and functions (like cooling channels) into a single extruded profile. The rapidly increasing electrification of […]