Getting a clean, smooth finish while removing material quickly is not always easy when machining high-strength aluminium alloys. A new study on AA7075-T6 aluminium alloy has explored this challenge, identifying two different sets of drilling conditions to improve surface quality and maximise machining productivity. The research examined how cutting speed, feed rate and drill depth influence conventional drilling performance. Using response surface methodology and a central composite design, the researchers developed predictive models to determine how changes in these parameters affect the machining process. The models showed a strong level of accuracy, with coefficients of determination (R²) reaching 0.9731 for surface roughness and 0.9359 for material removal rate. Further confirmation...
Cleaner aluminium depends on three things going right at once: scrap collection, melting it in a furnace without much carbon, and the electricity behind the whole chain not being coal-powered. Developments across North America, the UK, the European Union (EU), Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia and India depict how unevenly those pieces are falling into place. While some markets are losing recoverable metal at the sorting line, others are redirecting cargoes or writing scrap into industrial policy, and a few are lining up green projects to hold primary aluminium production together. Aluminium scrap trade: North America leads, Thailand bans, EU retains The international aluminium scrap market is facing a combination of changing trade flows and growing pressure to secure cleaner, more consistent...
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Arconic announced a multi-year cooperative research agreement with Airbus to advance metal 3D printing for aircraft manufacturing. Together, the companies will develop customized processes and parameters to produce and qualify large, structural 3D printed components, such as pylon spars and rib structures, up to approximately 1 meter (3 feet) in length. The deal combines Arconic’s expertise in metal additive manufacturing and metallurgy with Airbus’s design and qualification capabilities, building on its experience with regulatory agencies for certification. “This agreement combines the expertise of two of the world’s top aerospace additive manufacturing companies to push the boundaries of 3D printing for aircraft production,” said Eric Roegner, Executive Vice President and Group...
Rusal announced that aluminium alloys 8030 and 8176 have received approval from the Russian authorities for the use in electrical wiring applications. The company's technical specialists have launched the production of 8030 and 8176 alloys at the Kandalaksha and Irkutsk aluminium smelters. The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation has permitted the use of aluminium wiring in buildings and structures. These alloys are used in electrical wiring production in the United States and China. “In 2000, due to the outdated technical specification of electrical wiring, the market regulator imposed a ban on the use of aluminium wiring in the construction of residential and public buildings,” according to company’s press release. “The aluminium wiring, manufactured by Irkutskkabel and Kamskiye...
The U.S. Commerce Department has decided to impose tariffs ranging from 97 per cent to 162 per cent on Chinese made aluminium foil increasing it from the already existing 81% rate that the administration had imposed in the summer. However, Canada and Mexico have not imposed any such restrictive tariffs. Let us check the aluminium foil import trends in Mexico for last three years to understand the consumption pattern and the import dependence. Mexico imported 108,092 tons of aluminium foil in 2016 as compared to 97,835 tons of aluminium foil in 2015. In the year 2017, Mexico is estimated to import about 95,322 tons of aluminium foil. The trend shows a downward movement, showing the country getting more dependent on domestically produced foils. The leading exporter of foil to Mexico is USA,...
With the starting of the implantation of actual winter capacity cut for alumina and aluminium yesterday, primary ingot prices registered a jump today. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average A00 aluminium ingot price has gained RMB 170/t on November 16 to stand at RMB 15,360/t from RMB 15,190/t yesterday. The rise in aluminium A00 Aluminum prices have continued in all other individual markets in China. A00 ingot prices have registered an increase from RMB 135/t to RMB 195/t across all markets. A00 ingot prices have registered a drop only in the south China market. In the spot market aluminium is trading at a discount of RMB 160-120 /tonne. The jump in A00 ingot prices in the individual markets can be seen in the table below: Chalco, China's leading state-run aluminium firm has not...
Google Pixel 2 XL smartphone that was launched by the company in San Francisco hit Indian shelves on November 15. The phone features an aluminium body with a hybrid coating, and comes at a starting price of INR 73,000. Pixel 2 XL runs on an Android Oreo, and comes with a 6-inch pOLED display. The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor. With an IP67 rating, the phone is water, and dust resistant. The device has 12MP f/1.8 rear camera with optical plus electronic stabilisation and 8MP f/2.4 front camera. Google Pixel 2 XL is available both online as well offline, and has two colour options- - Just Black, and Black and White.
The Centre d’expertise sur l’aluminium (CeAl) and Alcoa Innovation have jointly announced a competition with the theme Community-Focused Architecture Starts with Aluminum . Aimed at fostering innovative use of the sustainable light metal in modern building designs, the competition will get the Association des Architectes en pratique privée du Québec (AAPPQ) as a co-organizer. Financial support for the event will come from the Ministère de l’Économie, de la Science et de l’Innovation (MESI). The earlier editions of the competition were primarily dedicated to industrial design projects for a consumer product. Next year’s edition, for the first time, will invite Québec architects to participate and showcase their designs using aluminium for sustainable building projects. The unique...
The Government of India said Wednesday, November 15, that it has decided to further extend the “Public Utility Service” status of the services in the aluminium and aluminium manufacturing and bauxite mining sector for a period of six months. To be effective from November 16, these services come under item 30 and 31 of the First Schedule of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947). The status is thought to ensure smooth sale of bauxite, alumina, and aluminium even during the times of supply uncertainties. "The government has decided to extend the status of alumina and aluminium and mining of bauxite, as public utility services for another six months so that its sales is not affected due any uncalled or sudden strikes or lock outs," a government official said. Previously, these...
The growing demand for bauxite in China is driving domestic integrated aluminium producers to explore opportunities outside China to invest in projects to extract the valuable raw material. A representative from Chalco, a unit of China's biggest state-run firm, Chinalco, said on Thursday that the company plans bauxite production at its project in the West African nation of Guinea by end of 2017 or early 2018. "It is predicted that at the end of this year or the beginning of next year we will launch," Lu Dongliang, senior vice president at Chalco, said in an industry conference in the city of Fuzhou while answering to queries on the project’s development. Guinea's mines ministry confirmed in August that Chalco would invest $500 million to mass-produce bauxite in the north part of the...
Mike Henry, Minister of Transport and Mining, announced at a JIS Think Tank yesterday that the new owner of Alpart Refinery will export 35,000 tonnes of alumina for the first time on December 5. Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) will invest around US$3 billion over a period of three years for upgrading the 1.65-million tonnes per annum plant which it opened in June this year. Mike Henry said, “That is an exciting special economic zone development. They are going to build a new plant; they're going to dredge the Kaiser port and intensify the shipments that leave from the port.” JISCO is also planning to construct a second alumina plant with a capacity of 2 million tonnes per year. He added: “There's to be an aluminium foil factory, a stainless steel plant, an aluminium sheet plant, a...
LME aluminium dropped marginally as consumption in China, the world’s biggest aluminium consumer market, slowed down alongside the onset of winter capacity cuts. The light metal contract which closed at US$2,085 per tonne on Tuesday, November 14, came down to close at US$2,082 per tonne on Wednesday, November 15. Although it is a bit early to say whether aluminium market has entered a bear or a bull phase, the cyclicality and its resultant anticipation has definitely put the commodity in a negative domain as far as the short to medium term outlook is concerned. As on November 15, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,081.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,082 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,096 per tonne, 3M Offer...
Aluminium extrusion specialist Hydro is of the view that the use of extruded aluminium has a lot to offer in the making of conventional offshore vessels. Though the demand for offshore vessels is low currently, use of aluminium could have a number of advantages in the newly designed vessels. Hydro did a number of technical and cost studies with leading offshore support vessel builders that suggested that aluminium could not only reduce weight but also can be cost-competitive with steel. Hydro’s marine and offshore market manager Chris Moyle explained that aluminium can be a fitting material for the offshore environment with one-third of the weight of steel, lower maintenance cost; durability, strength and corrosion resistance. “By reducing weight, aluminium reduces costs,” said Mr Moyle....
After the success of Potline Failure: Case Studies & Observations and Raw Materials: CPC, CTP & Anode reports, AlCircle is back again with its third report! This time the comprehensive aluminium portal turns its focus from the upstream to the downstream vertical of the Aluminium value chain. The report titled Growing Consumption of Aluminium Rolled Products in Automotive Industry 2017 throws light on the market that is soon going to claim the biggest share of the global lightweight automotive materials pie. Lightweighting is the order of the day. Globally, automotive industry players are spending dollars to hit upon that one perfect material and technology that enables them to reduce weight of their next outgoing vehicle model so that they meet the now stricter sustainability rules. In...
Vedanta today announced that the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha ('SPCB') has revoked the closure order on the remaining two power units, which were closed following a breach in the Ash Pond dyke wall at Jharsuguda, on November 10, 2017, and hence restarted these units of power plant. SPCB had directed a temporary closure of the five power plant units (three units of 135 MW each of the 1215 MW power plant, and two units of 600 MW each of the 2400 MW power plant) on 13 September 2017. Vedanta said that the closure order has been revoked on all five power units that were directed by SPCB to be temporarily closed. The SPCB has allowed operation of all the units till January 12, 2018 after which further extension of operation will be considered with a review of progress.
Lu Dongliang, Vice President of Chinalco, China’s biggest state-run aluminium producer told Reuters that the company will cut alumina capacity by 2 million tonnes during this winter months to meet capacity cut plans. Chinalco will not cut its aluminium production this winter. The company already started cutbacks at its alumina refineries in Henan and Shandong last month. Lu Dongliang said that the company has a refining capacity of around 7 million tonnes per year. The country’s production cut plans during the winter heating season starts from November 15, 2017 till March 15, 2018. China had ordered alumina and aluminium producers to curtain their production capacity in 28 cities during winter months as Beijing has been facing smog problems for years. The China had ordered to slash...
India’s overseas trade entered “the negative terrain” after more than a year shrinking 1.12 per cent in October as exporters faced a shortage of funds after GST implementation. The knee-jerk effect on the economy is expected to fade away but not before early next year. In tandem with the declining exports, aluminium stranded wire export is also inching towards a drop for the fiscal year 2017-2018, global trade data reveals. India’s aluminium stranded wire export reached a peak in 2015 when it shipped 78476 tonnes of the product valued at US$218 million. Last year, the volume dropped to 77898 tonnes. The earnings from the export were estimated at US$204 million. The figures showed a significant surge from that in 2014, when aluminium stranded wire export by India lagged at 31015 tonnes...
The implantation date for actual winter capacity cut starts today. With the arrival of production limit date, alumina plants from different Chinese provinces have been implementing their reduction plan. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average spot alumina price in China stands at RMB 3701/t today on November 15. SMM expects the spot prices to stay within RMB 3701 per tonne today. Domestic spot alumina prices have dropped further to RMB 3655/t after hovering at RMB 3685/t since October 24. Domestic prices are expected to range within RMB 3550 – 3760 per tonne today. The drop in domestic alumina prices can be seen in the graph below: According to Shanghai Metals Market report, China Aluminum Shandong Branch is going to reduce three production lines with 35,000 monthly alumina output...
Jamaica’s bauxite and alumina industry is on a growth trajectory. Driven by the reopening of Alpart bauxite mining and processing complex by Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) Limited in Nain, St. Elizabeth, the industry is growing bringing hope for the entire economy, Minister of Transport and Mining, Mike Henry, said in a recent press meet. JISCO has committed an investment of around US$3 billion over a period of three years for upgrading the 1.65-million tonnes per annum plant which it opened in June this year. The expansion project will take the production capacity of the plant to two mtpa by the end of 2020, Henry said. The investment by JISCO includes construction of the following projects in addition to the main Alpart plant expansion plan: A new 120MW LNG power plant at the...
Novelis, the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, announced that after the successful application in Europe its Advanz™ 6HF - e/s200 aluminium alloy is now available in North America. This heat-treatable automotive alloy offers greater design flexibility because of its superior formability, strength performance and weight savings. This 6xxx-series alloy can be used for new outer and inner applications in the automotive sector like body sides, door inners, decklid, outers and inners, and other closure panels. The alloy works best in applications that require bending without the risk of cracking. The company release claims Advanz™ 6HF - e/s200 can achieve weight reduction of nearly one-third over steel in inner door applications. The alloy can help automakers design lightweight...
