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...
Grow with
AL Circle
Rio Tinto published the production results of alumina for the third quarter of 2017. The company’s alumina production for the quarter was in line with the third quarter of 2016. The company produced 1.9 million tonnes of alumina in the three months ended September 30. Rio Tinto produced six million tonnes of alumina in the first nine months of this year. “A strong performance at the Yarwun refinery was offset by reduced production at the Queensland Alumina refinery due to the timing of major maintenance,” according to the company’s press release. Rio Tinto’s share of production in 2017 is unchanged at 8.0 to 8.2 million tonnes of alumina.
Rio Tinto released the production results of alumina and aluminium for the quarter third quarter of 2017. The company’s aluminium production dropped due to production curtailment at the Boyne smelter and lower production at the Sohar smelter. The quarterly aluminium production was three per cent lower than the third quarter of last year. Rio Tinto produced 887,000 tonnes of aluminium. In the first nine months of 2017, the company produced 2.6 million tonnes of aluminium. The company’s share of production in 2017 is unchanged at 3.5 to 3.7 million tonnes of aluminium. “Strong operational performances were achieved across most sites, reflecting process improvements that have been embedded throughout the business.” “This was offset by production curtailment at the Boyne smelter due to higher...
Tokyo’s Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) has announced plans to invest in the Italian automobile component manufacturer and seller CPC S.R.L. The decision can be seen as part of Mitsubishi Chemical’s efforts to strengthen business position in the U.S. and European markets. MCC subsidiary Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber and Composites GmbH recently acquired a 44 per cent equity stake in the carbon fibre and aluminium composite auto component making enterprise from its founder. Globally, the demand for carbon fibre and aluminium composites is increasing for making fuel-efficient, lightweight cars. MCC being a player in this promising sector aims to capture the top share of the market by providing optimal solutions to customers through an expansive coverage across its entire business...
apt Extrusions GmbH & Co. KG, Monheim, Germany opened its doors to visitors to experience their plant and facilities during the "Long Night of Industry". The participation is free and visitors thronged the Monheim site with goggles, hearing protection plugs and headsets to see the processes. apt Extrusions is a leading manufacture of complex and multifunctional extruded aluminium profiles and products in Germany. Their processing capabilities cover the entire value chain for the manufacture of products – from raw material to the end product. "Aluminum is pure passion for us," says Managing Director Thomas Boddenberg at the start of the company's visit. The company was founded in 1972 and their products are used in automotive and mechanical and electrical engineering and in household,...
Hindalco Industries has drawn up plans to expand the capacity of its aluminium rolling mill at Hirakud, Odisha. The company will invest INR 4,000 crore to ramp up the capacity to 3,75,000 tonnes per annum from the current 1,35,000 tonnes per annum. It is looking for 100 acres of land in the adjoining areas to complete the expansion. Most of the aluminium flat-rolled products manufactured at the Hirakud plant are exported. “We are witnessing a very good demand for such products and this is driving our expansion", said Hindalco Industries head (Sambalpur cluster) R K Gupta. Hindalco is also in talks with Apar Industries for setting up an aluminium wire rod conductor making unit in the vicinity of its smelter at Lapanga in Odisha’s Sambalpur district. It runs an FRP facility that...
The average price for A00 aluminium ingot drops to RMB 16,050/tonne today after a substantial rise on October 13. A00 Aluminium Ingot in spot China market is trading at discounts of RMB 200 - 160/t. A00 aluminium ingot prices across all markets have dropped substantially. Today’s aluminium A00 Aluminum prices across the various markets in China are presented in the table below: Shanghai Metals Market Statistics shows that average spot alumina prices in China remains unchanged on October 17 at RMB 3694/t. On October 17, Chalco alumina price has increased further to RMB3690/tonne from RMB 3650/tonne. Spot alumina prices remain unchanged in all other individual markets in China. According to a Shanghai Metals Market, Henan Province, Binzhou and Zibo city of Shandong Province have introduced...
Sweden, the 26th largest exporter in the world, exported $135 billion worth of goods in 2016. The country’s exports of aluminium scrap have increased during the last two years. Germany and China are the top importers of aluminium scrap from Sweden. China imported 9950 tonnes of aluminium scrap during January- August. Other top importers of aluminium scrap are Norway, Denmark, Italy, Belgium and South Korea. According to the recent estimate, in 2015, Sweden exported 90091 tonnes of aluminium scraps. The total revenue from can export amounts to about US$ 121 million. The country exported an estimated 110266 tonnes of aluminium scraps globally in 2016. The total revenue from the export stood at US$ 128 million. In 2017, the aluminium scraps export by Sweden is estimated to reach 115300...
LME aluminium prices are holding at highs. With the inventories falling by 10,800 tonnes to 1,218,950 tonnes, the light metal contract edged further up to close at US$2,144 per tonne on Monday, October 16 from US$2,140 per tonne last Friday, October 13. Technical analysis and recent price movements suggest that LME aluminium may trade within a wide range of US$2,135-US$2,155 per tonne in the short term. As on October 16, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,143.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,144 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,159 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,159.50 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$2,205 per tonne, and Dec1 Offer Price is US$2,210 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening Stock or the LME aluminium...
Rio Tinto announced the production results for the third quarter of 2017. The company registered a four per cent increase in bauxite production in the third quarter. Rio Tinto’s bauxite production was 12.9 million tonnes for a second consecutive quarter. This was due to strong production at Weipa and Gove mine. “Gove production was 11 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2016 due to a planned production ramp-up associated with continued de-bottlenecking of capacity, whilst production at Weipa was up three per cent,” it said. The company produced 37 million tonnes of bauxite in the first nine months of 2017. The third party shipments of 8.2 million tonnes were achieved in the third quarter, two per cent higher than the corresponding quarter of 2016. The company’s share of...
Alro S.A., the largest aluminium producer in continental Europe (excluding Russia and the Scandinavian Peninsula), announced that the company will invest $100 million to increase the energy efficiency and specific consumption. The plan is a part of the "Green Factory" program.The "Green Factory" concept will use aims green technologies that will enable Alro to produce high added value aluminium products. Gheorghe Dobra, General Manager of Alro S.A, said, “Now is the time to take the next step, to further reduce the industrial carbon footprint, but at the same time, to continue to increase the production of high and very high added value aluminium and to strengthen our position in sophisticated markets such as aerospace or automotive". The business plan for the period 2017-2021 predicts...
Iconic design and architecture brand Snøhetta’s recently completed project- the National Academy of the Art, which opened its doors in Bergen, is cladded in a unique prefabricated façade made of raw aluminium elements. The new structure built to endure the rainy climate of Norway west coast encloses a massive studio where KMD’s 350 art and design students can learn, collaborate, and share ideas under one roof. The National Academy of the Art, Bergen, replaces the former Academy of Art & Design (KHiB) and combines the earlier faculty buildings into one edifice. It has two main axes–one internal, and one external. It is the raw aluminium façade that has added the unique touch to the new complex. Prefab raw aluminium elements clad the building’s exterior, with 900 varied sized...
The Government of Odisha is intensifying efforts to build an inclusive environment for ancillary and aluminium downstream units in the state. Following the success of the last month’s meet organized in collaboration with Tata Steel and Jindal Stainless (JSL) in Kalinganagar, the state government is now organizing a workshop for the aluminium industry in the same line. The event to be held on October 16, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is expected to witness a turnaround of about 100 ancillary and downstream aluminium companies. Investments in Odisha aluminium downstream sector are gaining momentum. Over the past five years, the state has attracted investments worth INR 893 crore, including: Midal Cables’s proposal to build an aluminium rod and wire...
Bombardier Transportation and Malaysian partner HARTASUMA SDN BHD have completed delivery of 14 new driverless BOMBARDIER INNOVIA Metro 300 trains for Kuala Lumpur. The lightweight aluminium four-car trains have been delivered to Prasarana Malaysia Berhad. Jayaram Naidu, Head of South East Asia, Bombardier Transportation, said: “We are very proud that our latest, additional INNOVIA trains are contributing to increasing urban connectivity across the greater Kuala Lumpur area, estimated to grow to ten million residents by 2020.” “This is also a further milestone in this important market for Bombardier, in which 374 cars have been ordered making it one of the largest INNOVIA fleets in the in the world.” The lightweight aluminium INNOVIA Metro 300 trains are capable of moving up to 30,000...
Sarawak Cable Bhd (SCB) expects its manufacturing division to see improved margins this year, as the company targets higher sales of newly launched products. In H1 2017, the contribution of the group’s cable manufacturing business increased to 84% of total revenue from 52% in the same period of 2016. “The cables segment will continue its good contribution to group turnover and profits in the second half of the year,” group managing director and chief executive officer Aaron Toh Chee Ching told the local media. He attributed this revenue increase to new products with higher profit margins and also to optimised production capacity, reduced wastages and lower production costs. SCB group acquired two power cable manufacturing facilities- Leader Cable Industry Bhd and Universal Cable (M) Bhd...
Casepak, one of the UK’s leading recycling and waste management companies, has secured a contract to process up to 64,000 tonnes per annum of dry mixed recyclables. The dry recycling stream includes paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal and aluminium cans and drinks cartons. The company will process, sort and grade the collected materials at its Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Braunstone Frith, Leicester. The recycling contract will begin on the 1 April 2018. Georgina Cullen, Casepak’s Business Development Director, said: “As a Leicester-based company we are delighted to have been awarded this substantial contract to process the county’s dry mixed recyclables. “We look forward to partnering with Leicestershire County Council over the next few years and helping to increase...
Aluminium bar rods and profiles export by Oman is nearing a year-on-year decline in 2017. The Middle East country with a promising downstream aluminium manufacturing base is projected to ship around 2822.5 tonnes of aluminium extruded products internationally by this year end, global trade data revealed. The total value of aluminium bar rods and profiles export by Oman is estimated to reach US$5.2 million in 2017, down 20.33 per cent year-on-year. Oman is home to some of Middle East’s leading aluminium extrusion manufacturers. National Aluminium Products Company SAOG (NAPCO) is the biggest aluminium bar rods and profiles producer with annual production capacity totalling 42,000 tonnes. It has four state-of-the-art extrusion presses from Europe. The extrusion presses are complemented by...
On Oct.13th, Binzhou City, Shandong Province has issued a Notice on Plan of 2017-2018 Industrial Enterprises’ Stagger Production. According to the plan estimate, alumina output in China will reduce by 1.93 million tonnes during heating season. In the meantime, Shanghai Metals Market Statistics shows that average spot alumina prices in China have been rising steadily throughout all major markets. The monthly average price stands at RMB 3542.44/t and today’s average alumina price stands at RMB 3694/t, up from RMB 3678/t on October 13. The growing trend in average alumina price in last one month can be traced from the graph below: Alumina price from large scale alumina enterprises is also on the rise through September and recently it has seen a jump for two consecutive days in October. On...
Aluminium stocks at three major ports in Japan declined 2.4 per cent month-on-month to stand at 275,900 tonnes by September end, trading house Marubeni Corp reported on Monday. Marubeni collects stock related data from the ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka. Aluminium stocks (in tonnes) in the three major ports were as follows: Port Sept 2017 August 2017 Sept 2016 Yokohama 135,200 137,800 138,500 Nagoya 125,700 129,800 133,000 Osaka 15,000 15,000 15,000 Total 275,900 282,600 286,500 September 2017 aluminium stock is down by 3.69 per cent from the corresponding month previous year. The scenario is similar to the LME aluminium inventory levels where the stocks stand at all-time low supporting prices above US$2,125 per tonne. In another update, Reuters reported Japanese aluminium buyers...
