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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According to the latest Resources and Energy Quarterly for September 2017 by Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, World aluminium production increased by 5.8 per cent YoY in the first eight months of 2017, to over 40 million tonnes. Production growth was driven by strong growth in China (7.7 per cent YoY), ex-China Asian countries (14 per cent year-on-year), and South America (3 per cent year-on-year). Due to reduced capacity at Portland Aluminium in Australia after a power outage in December 2016, production in Oceania fell by 11 per cent YoY. Environmental inspection and illegal capacity cut are expected to reduce China’s aluminium production by 4.3 per cent to 30 million tonnes by the end of 2017. The report further states that production rises in...
Prebaked anode manufacturing has undergone a paradigm shift. Once strong base-the Americas, have reduced coal production due to stricter environmental rules, and the East (read China) has seized the opportunity to emerge as the biggest producer. The little anode quantity that is produced in the US mainly goes on to fulfil the market demand in Canada. In Venezuela, anodes are used by the local industry. Due to rapid development of the aluminium electrolytic industries and conversion of Söderberg plants to prebake operations, China has achieved an unprecedented growth in prebaked anode production in recent years. It is currently the top anode producing country in the world and accounts for about 50% of the third party anode requirement of Russia, Europe, North America, the Middle East and...
GF Linamar, a joint venture between GF Automotive and diversified manufacturing expert Linamar Corporation, inaugurated its new high-pressure die-casting facility focuses on lightweight solutions in aluminium and magnesium for the automotive industry. Josef Edbauer, President of GF Automotive, said: “The opening of GF Linamar LLC is an important milestone for us to serve our global customers even better. The strong order intake shows that our expertise in reducing vehicle weight and therefore emissions is well appreciated by our customers, certainly a promising sign for the future.” The first production is expected to start in 2018. The new plant is located on a 57-acres site at the Ferncliff Industrial Park in Mills River, North Carolina. Linda Hasenfratz, CEO of Linamar Corporation,...
Billionaire Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska is set to list Russia’s largest independent power and aluminium producer En+ on the London Stock Exchange and in Moscow. The industrialist hopes to raise $1.5bn through the dual listing of the power and aluminium producer En+ to help to lower its $5bn debt pile. En+ would be the largest float of a Russian company in the international market. Mr Deripaska expects the group’s Siberian hydropower business and its low-cost aluminium will attract investors shy of investing in Russia because of geopolitical tensions. The The company also expects this to improve Russia's ties with China, where demand for energy and aluminium is growing more than the global average. It follows a series of deals between Russian and Chinese companies in recent years....
Aluminium recycling company Novelis recently published its 2017 sustainability report. The report showed that the company has increased use of recycled-content inputs in FY17 from 53 per cent to 55 per cent year-over-year – two years ahead of target. The company also reduced water usage and greenhouse gas emissions. Novelis president and CEO Steve Fisher said, “We see tremendous opportunity in continuing to expand the use of lightweight, infinitely recyclable aluminium to meet today’s most demanding applications while reducing energy use and preserving natural resources.” "We have made great gains in this fiscal year and are ahead of target in some areas. Additionally, we remain resolute in our commitment to leverage our technical expertise and innovative capabilities to solve challenges...
A human rights, environmental and mining advocacy NGO named Wacam, has urged Ghana government not to grant license to any company to mine bauxite in the Atiwa Forest Reserve, on environmental grounds. Mr. Boakye-Dankwa Boadi, Director of Communication and Advocacy of Wacam warned that mining right inside Atiwa Forest Reserve would have disastrous consequences. According to studies, the reserve, which constitutes a major part of the last existing forest in South-Eastern Ghana, keeps Accra-Tema area smog-free. The two major rivers, Densu and Brim also take their sources from this forest reserve. Mr. Boadi, a former acting General Manager and Supervising Chief Editor of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said that the country must do everything possible to protect the forest reverve for the best...
Fortress Recycling and Resource Management on the Heathcote Industrial Estate, which recycles aluminium cans paper, cardboard and glass, has obtained a £100,000 grant in order to minimize carbon emissions. The company received investment from the Coventry and Warwickshire Green Business Programme after the introductions by the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP Growth Hub. David Pass stated, "This plant is now one of the most advanced material recovery centres in the UK. We recycle non-hazardous business waste and recycle paper, cardboard, glass, aluminium cans, plastic bottles and milk bottles and the new machine will also improve our productivity levels. Fortress Recycling and Resource Management is run by brothers David, Robert and Andrew Pass. "The carbon savings we are making is fantastic...
Altech Chemicals’ managing director, Iggy Tan said global high purity alumina demand is expected to reach 86,831 tonnes per annum by 2024 growing from 25,315 tonnes per annum in 2016. The market will grow at a CAGR of 17 per cent driven by LED and lithium-ion battery segment growth. Global demand of LED lights, the largest segment contributing to HPA demand, is forecast to increase to 4.1 billion by 2021, growing from 864 million in 2015. Tan was addressing a CEO meet organized by Proactive on October 3-4 in Sydney and Melbourne. Source: Altech Chemicals Ltd. HPA is a high-value and high-margin mineral, and a critical ingredient required for the production of synthetic sapphire. Currently, Altech manufactures 45,000 tonnes of 99.9 % (4N) type HPA in a year. HPA is used in lithium-ion...
The TMAX Aluminum Series is the latest evolution in mechanic service bodies by Stellar Industries. TMAX 30K aluminium bodied mechanic truck combines the crane-carrying Stellar TorqIsolator torsion box with a strong and lightweight aluminium service body. Stellar shows its unique historical core competencies to successfully bring steel and aluminium together in one mechanics service body. The new aluminium body is designed for a service crane that lifts 5,000 pounds or less. The TMAX 30K Aluminum body weighs 1,300 pounds less than its heavy-duty-steel counterpart, the TMAX 1, and allows more payloads. The TMAX 30K Aluminum is designed to accept up to and including a 30,000 lb.-ft. rated service crane. The body side compartments of the truck are constructed of 1/8-inch high-strength...
Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Union Electric Steel Corporation, has won $4.4 million contract from Zhongwang High Precision Aluminum Industry, a Chinese manufacturer of high-end aluminium flat-rolled products, for the delivery of rolls for new hot rolling mill installation. The shipments are likely to start in the first quarter of 2018. Rodney Scagline, President of Union Electric Steel, said, “The agreement adds another accredited, large new aluminium mill to our customer list. Supplying the rolls needed for this new mill is an encouraging win for us, demonstrating our growing presence among major aluminum rolling mills around the world which require the most demanding, high-quality rolls.” The supply agreement includes Union Electric Åkers...
India’s exports have shrunk considerably in FY 2017 alongside a slow growth in the domestic manufacturing sector. As compared to an export target of US$900 billion by 2020, exports were less than a third at US$275 billion in the last financial year. The figure is strikingly lower than FY 2014’s US$314 billion worth exports. A prominent producer of primary aluminium in the global map, India’s non-alloyed aluminium ingot export was valued at US$ 1.89 billion (1092.5 tonnes) in FY2016-17 accounting for 0.68 per cent of the total export. During April to July 2017, India exported 376.02 tonnes of non-alloyed aluminium ingots worth US$737.21 (0.79 per cent of the total export value of US$93.3 billion), revealed data shared by the Export Import Data Bank of India Department of Commerce, Ministry...
In a statement published on Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department said that it would defer the preliminary determination in an anti-dumping duty investigation into China aluminum foil imports by the US. The delay according to the department, would allow it "to fully analyse information pertaining to China's status as a non-market economy (NME) country." Concerned over the dramatic growth of imports of aluminium foil from China to the US in 2016, when it was valued at an estimated $389 million, U.S. aluminium foil producers filed a petition with the U.S. government accusing China of dumping foils in the United States. In August, Commerce imposed preliminary anti-subsidy duties of about 17% to 81% on different types of China aluminium foil. The anti-dumping probe, according to the Commerce...
HP announced the next generation HP Spectre 13 and HP Spectre x360 13 laptops, featuring 8th Generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. HP Spectre 13 is built from CNC aluminium and carbon fibre. HP Spectre x360 comes with a CNC machined aluminium body. Both the laptops come with a 13-inch display. "HP is delivering the world's thinnest touch laptops without compromising on performance, and still setting new industry standards for battery life, security, sound, and design." "Our Spectre portfolio is redefining the premium PC segment. We provide unique user experiences that will inspire creativity and unlock limitless opportunities to bring incredible ideas to life," according to HP. The HP Spectre 13 Laptop and the HP Spectre x360 will be available from late-October in Asia-Pacific and...
LME aluminium has dropped slightly. With the US dollar index moving higher after strong US data, the light metal contract slipped to US$2,124 per tonne on Thursday, October 5, from the earlier close of US$2,139 per tonne. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may break a resistance at US$2,174 per tonne and rise to US$2,196 per tonne. The trend line indicates a lower support at US$ 2,161 per tonne. A break below this level could cause a loss for LME aluminium into the range of US$2,125-US$2,145 per tonne in the short term. As on October 4, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,122 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,124 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,146 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,147 per tonne,...
Aluminium, the voice of the entire aluminium value chain, supports the agreement on a new EU trade defence regime that was reached yesterday during a final Trilogue meeting between the European Parliament, Commission and Council in Strasbourg. “If confirmed, this agreement could become a game changer for a strong EU defence regime against unfair trade,” said Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium. Aluminium is enjoying a growing demand from end-use sectors but global excess capacities have created enormous unbalances across worldwide markets. “As there are systemic distortions in the Chinese aluminium industry, it is only fair that the new law focusses on these distortions to trigger the use of non-domestic costs for dumping calculation. We welcome the Commission’s commitment...
Krasnoyarsk hosted IХ International Congress & Exhibition “Non-Ferrous Metals and Minerals – 2017” from September 11 to15 that consists of three industry conferences under the chairmanship of P.V. Polyakov (Doctor of Chemistry, Professor), G. L. Pashkov (corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Technology, Professor), V.A. Makarov (Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy, Professor). The three conferences were: Aluminum of Siberia Metallurgy of non-ferrous, rare and precious metals Gold of Siberia This year the Congress also hosted an International meeting with the topic “Contemporary issues of comprehensive processing of rebellious ores and technogenic raw materials” and the Plaksin readings Conference. More than 700 experts from 194 companies from 24 countries of the...
LME aluminium has gained further. The light metal contract which closed at US$2,114 per tonne on Tuesday, October 3, reversing its current downtrend toward US$2,066 per tonne, has jumped to US$2,139.50 per tonne on Wednesday, October 4. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may test a resistance at US$2,174 per tonne. A break above this level could take the contract to a gain to the next resistance at US$2,196 per tonne. A break below this level could cause a loss to US$2,125 per tonne. So, it is likely that LME aluminium will swing widely within the range of US$2,125-US$2,175 per tonne in the short term. Source: www.lme.com As on October 4, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,138.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price...
Pivot has ventured into the electric bike segment with the addition of a new Mach 6 family in both carbon and aluminium. Both the new Mach 6 Carbon and Mach 6 aluminium offer new size-specific variations, with the medium, large and extra-large Mach 6 sizes. They offer compact reach for smaller riders. All sizes size variations offer slack, 65.75-degree head angles for maximum descending capabilities. The 155mm travel Mach 6 models are designed for enduro racers. The brand promises high levels of stability, control, and rollover capability to the riders while descending. Poppy, responsive handling is another key component of the Mach 6 personality. “The Mach 6 Carbon is one of our most loved and best Pivot designs ever, so we took the update of this model very seriously.” said Pivot...
