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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Shortly after the submission by Kobe Steel that it had falsified data regarding aluminium and copper products, four Japanese automakers said Thursday that they found no safety issues with the aluminium parts supplied to them. This put at rest some concerns that the data falsification by the Japanese steelmaker might have compromised quality of their vehicles. However, Kobe Steel still has to defend themselves at the U.S. Justice Department, while further checks continue at other companies involved in the supply chains spanning across the globe. Ever since Japan's third-biggest steelmaker admitted earlier this month regarding data falsification, global automakers, OEMs, and aircraft companies have been testing frantically to identify potential hazards Kobe Steel-supplied aluminium and...
LME aluminium staged a reversal and rallied notably during night trading on Thursday, October 19. The light metal contract rose from the previous close of US$2,106 per tonne on Wednesday, October 18, to close at US$2,128.5 per tonne yesterday. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may break a resistance at US$2,161 per tonne, and rise more to the next resistance level at US$2,172 per tonne in the near term. There is a support at US$2,150 per tonne, a break below which could cause a loss to around US$2,136 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market predicts that LME aluminium will hover at highs and move within the range of US$2,140-2,165 per tonne on Friday, October 20. As on October 19, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,128 per tonne, cash seller...
Alcoa Corporation, a global leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminum products, today reported a sequential increase in third quarter 2017 revenue and earnings, driven primarily by improved pricing in the aluminum business segment and higher shipments of aluminum and bauxite. In addition, the Company’s cash balance as of September 30, 2017 reached $1.1 billion. Based on stronger alumina and aluminum prices, Alcoa has increased its projection for full-year adjusted EBITDA to approximately $2.4 billion2. This adjusted EBITDA forecast, up from the second quarter projected range of $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion, includes higher input costs to be reflected in net performance reported with fourth quarter 2017 results. “Alcoa continues to benefit from favorable commodity markets, and we’ve raised...
Tubes and pipes are two aluminium extruded products that have wide uses across a number of sectors. The most common aluminium alloys used for tubing and pipe are 2024, 3003, 5052, 6061, 7075. USA has a big demand for aluminium pipes and tubes which has a flourishing end use market in aerospace, automotive and industrial sector. The US produces a good amount of extruded tubes and pipes and also imports a large amount from Asian countries for the domestic use. Since recently the country is getting extra protective about imports of aluminium extrusions and rolled products and is on the verge of imposing anti-dumping duties on a number of aluminium products, it becomes imperative to assess how the country has fared in last two years in the foreign trade sector for these products. We are...
While cell phones, laptops and cars become more energy efficient, the development of one important ingredient common in all these devices, and many more, has lagged: the batteries used to power them. “In any given battery, something is either very rare or it’s toxic or it’s expensive. Those are the things that have been plaguing the battery industry,” said Apparao Rao, the R. A. Bowen Professor of Physics at Clemson University and director of the Clemson Nanomaterials Institute. Here's an excerpt from the Media Release by Clemson University Relations: Image Credit: Graphic by Anthony Childress / Clemson Nanomaterials Institute Today’s lithium ion batteries have high power density (they recharge fast) and high energy density (they stay charged a long time). But lithium is rare, expensive...
LME aluminium is sliding down the price graph. The light metal contract which closed at US$2,111 per tonne on Tuesday, October 17, dropped to close at US$2,106 per tonne after night trading on Wednesday, October 18. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may break a support at US$2,117 per tonne, and approach the next support level at US$2,103. A break below US$2,103 could cause a further loss to US$2,086 per tonne, while a break above US$2,130 may lead to a gain to US$2,148 per tonne in the near term. As per Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium will drop to US$2,105-2,130 per tonne on Thursday, October 19. Source: www.lme.com As on October 18, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,106 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium...
According to the latest market research report by Absolute Reports, the global aluminium welding wires market is projected to grow at a significant CAGR of 6.25 per cent during the years 2017-2021. Largescale increase in demand for welding wires for repair and maintenance in developing economies of Asia and south-east Asia is anticipated to drive the growth over the forecast period. The aluminium welding wires market has suffered significant impact due to slowdown in the global economic growth, but still continued to make positive progress. Over the past four years, the market size has also managed to maintain the average annual growth rate. Among the key trends that have swept the market is the inclusion of titanium and strontium in ER4043 aluminium alloy welding wire, the report noted....
India’s Rockman Industries Limited has announced that it will invest INR 652 crore to set up an aluminium alloy wheels and die casting component manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh. The project, planned to come up in Chittoor district of Rayalaseema region of AP, is expected to create 1,000 direct and 500 indirect employment opportunities. On Tuesday October 17, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, at a meeting of the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) on Tuesday, October 17, approved of five new investment proposals- all relating to setting up of various industries across the State. Rockman Industries’ aluminium alloy wheels and die casting component unit was one of these proposals. A part of India’s iconic Hero Group, Rockman Industries specialises in the...
According to a Shanghai Metals Market, Henan Province, Binzhou and Zibo city of Shandong Province have introduced the time of production limit and the number of limited production line for alumina up to October 16. The government has asked for annual 10.34 million tonnes production limit. SMM has calculated the actual capacity of limited production and considering actual operating capacity, the actual reduced annual capacity for alumina stands at 8.2 million tonnes. Liaochen City, Shandong Province and Changzhi City, Shanxi province have not introduced detailed plan. SMM statistics shows that average spot alumina prices in China remains unchanged on October 19 at RMB 3702/t. On October 17, Chalco alumina price stands at RMB 3710/tonne. Spot alumina prices remain unchanged in all other...
On Tuesday October 18, Braidy Industries announced that the location for its $1.3 billion aluminium rolling mill would shift from South Shore to the EastPark industrial site in Greenup and Boyd counties. As said by Braidy officials, this decision was based on an analysis of the South Shore property, which revealed that it could not accommodate the deep foundations necessary to support Braidy's mill. EastPark industrial site "In our diligent efforts, we discovered a risk that our peculiar needs for deep foundations for the mill could not be met without incurring material delays to our planned groundbreaking in the second quarter of 2018," said Braidy Industries Executive Vice President of Engineering, Alan Blankshain. "Our site will ultimately have to sustain the type of deep-bore...
The global mining giant Rio Tinto Group is mulling sales of its aluminium operations in Australia and New Zealand, reported the Financial Times. The sale of assets includes Pacific Aluminium and a power station at Gladstone, for which the group is in talks with Sanjeev Gupta owned Gupta Family Group Alliance. According to the report, Gupta is flying to Australia to discuss the deal and inspect the power station. Rio’s Pacific Aluminium smelters employ over 2,000 individuals, and registered a total net income of US$92 million in H1 FY 2017-18, a year-on-year jump from last year’s H1 net of US$29 million. Apart from GFG, Century Aluminium of the United States has also been showing interest in the smelters. Glencore Plc, who happens to own a 47 per cent interest in Century, is also rumoured...
Nalco is in talks with Almex and Rusal to form joint ventures at the upcoming Angul Aluminium Park in Odisha for the production of high-grade aluminium. Nalco Chairman and Managing Director T K Chand told PTI that the aluminium will be used in in metro trains, e-vehicles, aerospace and automobile sector. Angul Aluminium Park is a joint venture between Navratna firm National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and state-owned Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO). US-based Almex is a leading supplier of commercial and aerospace aluminium billet and slab casting technology and equipment. Russia’s RUSAL's main products are primary aluminium, aluminium alloys, foil and alumina. Chand said, “We will form JVs with Almex and Rusal as technology partners and another Indian entity...
According to a Shanghai Metals Market report, 2018 onward, Chinese traders will lose their qualifications to purchase aluminium scrap from international market as import agents. Both the aluminium scrap recycler and the consignee must be the same as per domestic consignee certificate, and the importer and recycler must be the same in importer licenses, a new circular said. SMM observed that this may force domestic traders in the aluminium scrap market to eventually turn to matchmaking businesses. However, secondary aluminium producers having import licenses will remain largely unaffected. China is one of the top aluminium scrap importing countries in the world and a major consumer of imported Zorba. During January-August 2017, its total aluminium import increased by 15.3 per cent...
According to a Shanghai Metals Market report, Shandong’s Liaocheng has issued winter output cut program for industrial enterprises. According to the program, Xinfa Group needs to close 564 electrolytic cells in winter heating season, or about 381,900 tonnes of capacity, which accounts for 30% of its total capacity (1.58 million tonnes). SMM statistics shows that average spot alumina prices in China had a slight rise on October 18 to RMB 3702/t. On October 17, Chalco alumina price has increased further to RMB 3710/tonne from RMB 3690/tonne. In North China market spot alumina prices increased to RMB 3720/tonne. spot alumina prices remain unchanged in all other individual markets in China. As for other raw materials are concerned, Average prebaked anode prices in East China, Central China,...
McMullen Facades, a part of the Lakesmere Group, has won a £11m contract for The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust’s new specialist hospital in Liverpool. The company will undertake the design, manufacture and installation of the fenestration package, including both unitised and stick curtain wall systems, bolted glass systems, aluminium doors, windows and rooflights. McMullen Facades, a leading facade contractor, designs, fabricates, and installs aluminium curtain wall and window systems for medium and large scale building projects. McMullen Facades will start work on site in April 2018. Both the unitised and stick curtain walling will be manufactured at UK manufacturing facility. The company will also supply the rainscreen and cladding package that comprises a striking...
LME aluminium dropped from its current highs as September U.S. Dollar index futures rallied on Monday, October 16 after a key Federal Reserve Index of business conditions rose to a three-year high. The light metal contract closed at US$2,111 per tonne after night trading yesterday, down from US$2,144 per tonne on Monday. As predicted earlier, it broke below a support level at US$2,130 per tonne, which caused the loss. Shanghai Metals Market predicts that LME aluminium will regain some strength due to falling inventories and move within the range ofUS$2,140-2,155 per tonne on Wednesday, October 18. As on October 17, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,110.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,111 per tonne, 3M Bid Price...
The ore-starved Lanjigarh refinery of Vedanta Aluminium finally has something to rejoice. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has granted the final clearance for developing a new bauxite mine in the forest land adjoining Odisha’s Kodingamali plateau area. A mining contractor has already been roped in to develop the mine slated to produce 3 million tonnes of bauxite a year. In September, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) received stage II clearance for diversion of 435 hectares of forest land for developing the mine from the 81 million tonnes reserve amid protests by the villagers and a section of green revolutionists. But, the project is not taking off yet. It will go ahead once the other important green approval, the Environmental Clearance (EC) has been amended. OMC has sought an...
The Aluminium Association’s “Index of Net New Orders of Aluminum Mill Products” for September reports that orders for mill products dropped in September month on month. Orders for flat roll products (sheet, plate, can stock and foil) dropped 5.4%. Estimated net shipments of Aluminum Sheet and Plate by U.S. and Canadian producers dropped 4.9% YoY to 698.8 million pounds during September 2017. On a month on month comparison, shipments were down 5.8% from the August 2017 total of 741.7 million pounds. YTD shipments through September 2017 stood at 6,475.5 million pounds, up 1.2 per cent over the same period of 2016. Shipments of Can Stock dropped 8.6% YoY to 324.5 million pounds during September 2017. On a month on month comparison, shipments decreased 9% from the August 2017 total of 356.5...
