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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COIL, the world leader for aluminium anodising, announced its revenues for the third quarter and first nine months of 2017. The company’s revenues were down in July- September period when compared with the same period of 2016, but the revenue in the quarter was higher than the second quarter of 2017. The company’s revenue dropped to €8.4 million in the third quarter of 2017, from €9 million in the corresponding period last year. COIL said revenues in the first nine months of 2017 fell 7 per cent to €22.8 million from €24.5 million in the first nine months of 2016. The company confirmed its full-year target of posting higher revenues of nearly €30 million in 2017. In September, COIL had inaugurated a new advanced line at its Bernburg site in Germany. The facility will enable the company to...
LME aluminium is struggling to break above the US$2,100 per tonne mark. After inching higher at US$2,100 per tonne on Monday, November 13, the light metal contract again dropped to US$2,085 per tonne on Tuesday, November 14. Current price trend analysis suggests that LME aluminium will extend its downtrend in the near term. Any gain in this period will be limited in a narrow range. As on November 14, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,084.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,085 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,105 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,105.50 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$2,150 per tonne, and Dec1 Offer Price is US$2,155 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening Stock or the LME aluminium inventory level stands...
Vader Systems, Buffalo, New York, USA, an innovator in liquid metal 3D printing that builds 3D metal printing machines for manufacturers and researchers, has announced the first commercial sale of its signature Mk1 3D printer to BECKER CAD-CAM-CAST. BECKER is a tier one supplier of engineered aluminium automotive components from Germany. Vader’s Mk1 Additive Manufacturing system Vader’s patented MagnetoJet technology melts metal wire and produces on-demand, precision droplets of molten aluminium. The company claims that the process will produce 3D printed parts faster and with reduced operational costs in comparison to process that uses metal powder. The process is also claimed to be safer and it offers easier material sourcing. Since, Vader’s technology uses standard aluminium wire, the...
Indian aluminium industry body Aluminium Association of India (AAI) has approached the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) seeking a solution to the looming coal supply shortage. The shortage has put 7.5 lakh jobs at stake and upcoming investments in the sector are being weighed down upon by a heavy debt load amounting to INR 70,000 crore. The dry coke shortfall against linkages is 78 per cent in case of Hindalco, 57 per cent for Vedanta, and 21 per cent for Balco, the AAI informed. “Coal security is the most critical aspect of sustainable operations and ramp-up of aluminium smelter", AAI said in a letter to the PMO adding that power contributes to 45 per cent of the overall production cost. "Any power outage/failure (4 hours or more) results in freezing of aluminium pots and shutting down of...
The Aluminum Association, in cooperation with the Aluminium Association of Canada reported that the total primary aluminium production in U.S. and Canada was at an annual rate of 3,947,875 tonnes during October 2017, up 5,279 tpy (+0.1%) over the September 2017 rate of 3,942,596 tonnes. The individual production rates in both U.S. and Canada rose slightly. North American annual rate dropped slightly below the October 2016 rate of 3,983,591 tonnes. YTD production through October 2017 totalled 3,293,975 tonnes, down 2.1 per cent YoY. Imports of ingot, scrap and mill products into the U.S. and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) stood at 720 million pounds in September 2017, up 5.5 per cent over the amount in September 2016. Including scrap, which accounted for roughly 52.7 per cent of...
Vedanta Resources published results for the six months ended 30 September 2017 on Friday. The company posted revenue and EBITDA of US$6.8 billion and US$1.7 billion respectively due to higher volumes and strong commodity prices. Profit attributable to equity holders of the parent (before special items) increased to US$ 21 million. The company’s aluminium production increased 39 per cent to 753 thousand tonnes in H1 FY2018, with an exit run-rate of 1.6 million tonnes per annum (excluding trial run production) in September 2017. In FY2018 , Vedanta is expected to produce between 1.5 million to 1.6 million tonnes of aluminium. The company is anticipated to exit FY2018 at a run rate of 2 million tonnes per annum. Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources plc, commented: “Our performance in...
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. Industry experts from the U.S. are of the view that the measure will not arguably protect domestic industry as claimed. Aluminum foil converters, the industry that processes and makes products from base raw material of aluminium foil rolls, have vehemently opposed the tariff. The converters claimed that they moved away from US-made foil to imported product not because of cheaper price but because domestic foil “was the source of over 95% of [their] raw material rejection”. Two American aluminium foil manufacturers are out of the league due to low production...
In a historical display at the ongoing Dubai Air Show, UAE unveiled its first ever spacecraft ‘Hope’ that will orbit Mars. The spacecraft made up of aluminium frame with lightweight aluminium honeycomb panels will be launched as a part of the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) in July 2020. In July 2014, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates had announced Project Hope. Thanks to its aluminium built, the spacecraft will weigh 1,500kg with fuel. As a part of the EMM, Hope spacecraft will gather climate and atmosphere related data from Mars which will be shared for free with the public. Made using aluminium frames, the spacecraft measures 2.37 metres in width and 2.90 metres in height excluding the solar panels. In space it will charge its batteries using...
The increase in spending in building and construction sector is driving the demand for aluminium tubes and pipes globally. It is projected that the demand for this commodity will continue to increase in the years ahead. {newsStudioGallery} Italy, the 8th largest exporter in the world, exported EUR 29.38 billion worth of goods in August 2017, up 8.4 percent year-on-year. The export of aluminium tubes and pipes by the country is expected to go up in 2017. According to recent statistics, Italy exported 24742 tonnes of aluminium tubes and pipes in 2016, down from 26584 tonnes in 2015. In 2017, the country’s aluminium tubes and pipes export is estimated to rise to 24745 tonnes. The estimated value of aluminium tubes and pipes export was USD 113 million and USD 106 million respectively for 2015...
Resources of bauxite in India are placed at around 3.89 billion tonnes of which the amount economically feasible for extraction is 0.656 billion tonnes. The Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) shared the data during a national level meeting held at Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) recently. The meeting was jointly organized by TIFAC, JNARDDC, and Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi. TIFAC informed that the mineable bauxite will be consumed by aluminium and other industries in India for the next 25 years. Previously, under the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) system, total bauxite resource in India was estimated at about 3.48 billion tonnes which is about 5 per cent of the world total....
A00 ingot prices in China drop across all markets driven by poor consumption and increasing stock. The capacity cut till date has not been able to change the inventory scenario substantially till date. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average A00 aluminium ingot price has dropped further to RMB 15,310/t on November 14 from RMB 15,360/t yesterday. The steady drop in A00 ingot prices can be seen in the graph below: As per latest data released by State Statistics Bureau, in October China’s primary aluminium output drops 7.5% to 2.55 million tonnes on yearly basis. The figure from January to October is 27.23 million tonnes, up 3.7% on yearly basis. The figure is down 2.3 percent from 2.61 million tonnes in September 2017 and from 2.73 million tonnes in October, 2016. The drop in...
LME aluminium edged higher and retraced US$2,100 per tonne on Monday, November 13 as dollar index remained flat. The light metal contract has been following a downtrend since November 3 when it touched US$2,165 per tonne. LME aluminium has declined 3 per cent since then. It is projected that LME aluminium will rise within a limited range before testing resistance at US$2,125 per tonne in the near term. As on November 13, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,099 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,100 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,113 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,114 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$2,158 per tonne, and Dec1 Offer Price is US$2,163 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening Stock or the LME aluminium inventory...
The acquisition deal between China Zhongwang and Cleveland’s Aleris Corporation has been called off on November 12, 2017. Aleris Corporation announced in a press release on Monday that the merger agreement will not proceed following the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) did not approve. “In July 2017, CFIUS raised concerns about the transaction, and the parties withdrew their filing while extending the merger agreement to allow for additional discussions,” according to Aleris press release. Sean Stack, Aleris Chairman and CEO said. "While this is not the outcome we intended, we remain committed to our growth strategy and have made great strides over the past year in expanding our capacity and developing the capabilities required to meet the future demands of our...
Aluminium rolled products will soon outpace aluminium castings and extrusions as the largest used automotive aluminium product category, an extensive report by AlCircle reveals. The report titled- Growing Consumption of Aluminium Rolled Products in Automotive Industry 2017 , is awaiting launch shortly. The report looks into various factors that have necessitated the use of rolled aluminium in cars, the markets presenting highest growth opportunities, leading automotive rolled product suppliers, top consumers from the auto industry, three automotive case studies, electric vehicle push, and challenges and barriers among many things more. We are standing at the edge of an emission-free, light vehicles era. Conventional, fuel-intensive and CO2-spitting vehicles made from steel are slowly...
National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) posted its financial results for the second quarter ended September 2017. The company achieved net profit of INR 235 crore, from INR 121 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Nalco’s net sale was INR 2420 crore in July- September quarter, from INR 1695 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD of Nalco said, “The market harvesting in alumina segment and focus on cost reduction have helped us improve our profitability. When the global metal market was in the slump cycle, NALCO maintained its resilience and faced the international downturn with courage by ramping up production.” For the half year ended September 2017 , the company’s net profit and gross sales turnover was at INR 364 crore and INR...
Rusal’s revenue for the three months ended September 30 was US$2,460 million, compared to US$2,060 million for the third quarter of 2016. Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of RUSAL, said: “In 3Q2017 RUSAL set another record in sales of value added products with the latter reaching 50% in total sales for the first time. The Company remains committed to its sales and marketing strategy and is on track to increase its share of VAP in the product mix to 60% by 2021.” For the nine months ended September 30, the company’s revenue rose to US$7,224 million from US$5,956 million in the corresponding period previous year. The increase was driven by “recovery in the LME aluminium price in the nine months of 2017 by 22.6% to an average of USD1,924 per tonne as compared to USD1,569 per tonne in the nine months...
Middle East and Africa region is logging significant growth riding the boom in oil as well as non-oil based business sectors. Recent data shows lightweight vehicle assembly in the region is slated to grow by 4.8% to almost 1.3 million units in 2017. Despite uncertainty and volatility in the international market LV assembly is expected to jump by 5.5% to reach 529 thousand units in 2017 predominantly due to stronger exports. Earlier, MEA has been relying more on imports to cater to the domestic demand for automotive aluminium sheet. Currently, it is consuming a lot of in-country produced aluminium rolled products. According to global trade data, major countries in the MEA namely Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Egypt in a combined manner imported 377476 tonnes of aluminium...
Logan Aluminum has invested a total of than $400 million in expanding its product mix and facilities. The company opened the first phase of its expansion in October and broke ground for the second phase which together is expected to create about 250 jobs. Logan Aluminum has been producing aluminium beverage can sheets since 1983 and is boosting its capacity for producing more aluminium sheets for beverage cans and for the automotive industry. A recent news release says the first phase of the expansion increases the plant’s recycling and new ingot casting capabilities by adding a 280,000-square-foot building. After the expansion the plant will be capable of manufacturing thicker-gauge aluminium sheets for automotive industry. Logan Aluminum will have more than 50 acres under roof on its...
