Aluminium alloy powder production for additive manufacturing is set to expand through a new technical cooperation agreement between CNPC Powder China Ltd and Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies Co Ltd (BLT). The agreement covers the production and international distribution of BLT-AlAM400, an aluminium alloy powder developed for applications in humanoid robotics, new energy vehicles (NEVs), aerospace and other industrial sectors. Under the agreement, BLT has authorised Shanghai-based CNPC Powder to manufacture BLT-AlAM400 on a contract basis in China and sell the powder internationally. CNPC Powder has also secured exclusive overseas agency rights, excluding BLT’s direct sales network and existing regional agents. With an annual powder production capacity of almost 10,000 tonnes, CNPC Powder...
BorgWarner has won its first commercial order for an electric motor developed with aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology. The US automotive supplier will provide the new eMotor to a major Chinese automaker for use in hybrid vehicles, bringing the technology into its first production application. The motor uses aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology and is designed for hybrid vehicles. Its applications include generator motors and traction motors for auxiliary drive systems, with production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Explore AL Circle’s report ALuminium Wires & Cables - Insights & Forecast to 2030 for insights into aluminium applications, industry developments and opportunities across the electrical sector . Compared with conventional copper-wire motors with...
Grow with
AL Circle
The Spanish manufacturer Seat has unveiled Ateca FR car, the latest addition to the Ateca range. The company will be showcasing the model at the Barcelona International Motor Show, Automobile Barcelona, from the 11th to the 21st of May 2017. “It’s a sportiness that adds to all the technology the Ateca has onboard,” commented Dr. Matthias Rabe, Vice-President of R&D at SEAT. The FR comes with 19-inch alloy wheels. The wheel arches in body colour and side skirts come in aluminium moulding. The model gets aluminium door thresholds with the FR logo. Alacantara sports seats and aluminium pedals also help to enhance car’s sporty design. “The Ateca FR adds yet another level of excitement to our first SUV. The agile and precise handling that the Ateca offers is reinforced with a touch of dynamism...
Demolition of the aluminium smelter infrastructure at Hydro's Kurri Kurri site is expected to begin in May. The Norway based aluminium producer announced that they have got on board CMA Contracting to demolish the smelter that will initiate the two-to-three-year project of redevelopment of the site. Hydro's Kurri Kurri aluminium smelter started production in 1969 and went offline in September 2012. The smelter now remains formally closed. Since the closure, Hydro has been planning to demolish, remediate and redevelop the site – a project which is now finally underway. The first stage of the aluminium smelter demolition will include most of the buildings on site except the tall chimney stacks and water towers, Hydro Aluminium shared in an official statement. The company is also currently...
According to a report by Reuters, the representatives of the U.S. aluminium industry are urging their EU counterparts to take action against “massive illegal subsidies" in China. The industry also wrote to British Prime Minister Theresa May regarding this matter. During a news conference in London, Michael Bless, CEO of Century Aluminium Company said, "The WTO and U.S. and European leaders must act quickly to ensure a fair playing field." China has been accused by Trade lawyers and some governments for violating the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Recently, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order for investigating the impact of aluminium imports on U.S. national security. The aluminium industry, represented by the China Trade Taskforce wrote to May asking "to...
LME aluminium prices have finally gained some strength after falling for four days at a stretch. The light metal traded globally closed at US$1,916 per tonne on Wednesday, May 3, up 0.36 per cent from its previous close of US$1,909 per tonne on Tuesday, May 2. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) analysis suggests LME aluminium should challenge the 20-day moving average and escalate to the US$1,915-1,940 per tonne range on Thursday, May 4, fuelled by rumour that environmental protection authority will crackdown on illegal aluminium capacity in Shandong, China. Coming to a longer-term forecast, Macquarie has raised its 2017 average aluminium price forecast by eight per cent from US$1,769 per tonne to US$1,913 per tonne. As on May 3, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,915 per...
Hornet Hyperloop, a Sacramento State Student club, is competing in the Hyperloop Competition Summer 2017, scheduled for August 25-27. Hornet Hyperloop is one out of the 24 international teams qualified to compete in the official event of SpaceX , the American aerospace manufacturing and space transport services company founded by E lon Musk . The team's entry for the competition is a scaled-downed pod that has parts made of different types of aluminium. Stainless steel has been used on the joints only. But why aluminium? - For the answer, we need to first know what 'Hyperloop' is all about. The concept of Hyperloop, founded by Tesla and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk in 2013, is to have a pod capable of carrying people or cargo levitating through an almost airless tube faster than the...
The Chelan County Public Utility District Board of Commissioners is negotiating with Alcoa Corporation in anticipation of reviving a smelter and hundreds of well –paid manufacturing jobs. Commissioners voted in favour of postponing a charge against Alcoa for idling the Colombia River smelter near Wenatchee at the beginning of 2016. Alcoa has many years left on a long-term contract to buy electricity from the Chelan County utility and the power contract contains both benefits and disadvantages for Alcoa to keep its energy-intensive aluminium smelter and its jobs running. ? PUD Board President Randy Smith said the utility board agreed to defer almost all of a $67 million charge Alcoa faced next for the smelter closure. "My desire is not to put any impediments in the way of a potential...
Australia is the dominant exporter of bauxite ore around the world. The country has five mines in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. The country exports major part of its bauxite to China. {newsStudioGallery} According to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Australia is expected to produce 82.7 million tonnes of bauxite in FY 2016-2017 (July-June), up 1.22% YOY. The two upcoming projects Metro Mining's Bauxite Hills project (5 million tpy) and Rio Tinto's Amrun project (23 million tpy) are anticipated to increase the country’s bauxite production in fiscal 2017-2018. On a quarterly basis, Australia exported an estimated 5519790 tonnes of bauxite in the first quarter of 2016-2017. In the second quarter, the country exported 6469964 tonnes, an increase...
Chairman of Aluminium producer Hulamin Mafika Mkwanazi has positive prospects for the company’s 2017 financial year. He expects a stronger product mix, increased utilisation of scrap metal and efficiency improvements, supported by a solid manufacturing performance to benefit profits for H1 2017. According to him, benefits of a stronger global aluminium price would offset the negative effect on Hulamin’s conversion margins. Stronger rand-dollar exchange rate average recorded in the first few months of 2017 also supported that. Hulamin is seeing growth momentum across all its operations, particularly its rolled products division due to buoyant customer demand. Local packaging and engineering markets had improved since late 2016 driving demand for rolled products. "Local sales of can stock,...
The recent slump in alumina prices in China has seen aluminium producers from the country making reasonably high profits. Of late, the profit margins have been improving steadily, Shanghai Metals Market found in a survey. The average profit registered by the Chinese aluminium smelters stands at around 1,400 yuan per tonne. This reflects a healthy market scenario given the fact that the aluminium prices, both in the London Metal Exchange market Shanghai market, and are trending at lows. In the week ending April 30, SMM average spot aluminium price stood at 14,106 yuan per tonne, down 74 yuan per tonne from the previous week. The price of the light metal is expected to drop further across the globe, at least, in the near term. In another survey, SMM found that several aluminium producers in...
Constellium N.V. announced today that it supplies aluminium Automotive Body Sheets and Crash Management Systems for the new BMW 5 Series, including its hybrid and touring models. The latest edition of the iconic BMW 5 Series saves 137 pounds (62 kg) compared to the previous model thanks to the use of lightweight materials like aluminium. Constellium is the primary supplier of aluminium Automotive Body Sheet for the BMW 5 Series, providing the coils used for the inner and outer applications such as doors, roofs, fenders, deck lids and structural parts. In addition, Constellium designed and produces the rear Crash Management System, including an integrated holder for the exhaust system. For the hood outer panel and fenders, Constellium provides Surfalex® with high surface quality and...
Spanish- based company Slimbook unveiled its newest Linux laptop named Slimbook Excalibur with 15.6 inches display. The exterior material crafted completely from aluminium. The aluminium finishing gives the laptop a fresh finish and a soft touch. Slimbook Excalibur is the company’s largest display laptop. The 15.6 inches display makes the laptop a bit bigger and heavier than its predecessors .The company claims the model is the only 15-inch aluminium laptop available in the market loaded with GNU/Linux. Slimbook opted Synaptics to improve the touchpad as it counts with better drivers and a wider functionality. The company has added a numerical keyboard that allows user to work even faster with numbers. The aluminium casing laptop is available in two variants, namely Intel i5 model and...
LME aluminium prices are in retreat due to the supply side reforms initiated in China. Though Goldman Sachs holds a better price outlook for the light metal in the coming months (US$2,100 in 12 months), the recent price drop seems to be taking the sheen off the light metal to a certain extent. LME aluminium, which ended at US$US$1,930 per tonne last week Friday, closed further down at US$1,909 per tonne on Tuesday, May 2. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may revisit its May 2 low of US$1,904 per tonne, following its failure to break a resistance at US$1,931. According to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), LME aluminium should move between US$1,910-1,940 per tonne on Wednesday, May 3, with strong resistance at the 5-day, 10-day and 20-day moving averages while looking for...
Ashland Community and Technical College Kentucky will be developing two specialized course programs to train workers for the upcoming aluminum mill by Braidy Industries in South Shore, along the Ohio River. The news came after company and state officials recently announced initial details about the aluminium mill scheduled for completion in 2020. According to Braidy CEO Craig Bouchard, the programs to be developed by ACTC will offer associate degrees in material sciences and advanced manufacturing, and will “train its work force on an evergreen basis while developing a pipeline of human talent for its mill and future manufacturing businesses in Greenup County, as well as surrounding counties.”? ACTC?officials and Braidy representatives are expected to meet this summer to begin mapping out...
Lindberg/MPH announced the shipment of an aluminum central melting furnace to the die casting industry. This equipment holds 62,000 lbs. of aluminum and has a melt rate of 6,000 lbs. per hour. The furnace is loaded with aluminum ingot, and sows across a preheat hearth and returns are fed via conveyor system into an exterior side well that is interconnected to a circulation well equipped with a pump. The aluminum on the hearth receives tremendous preheat before being pushed into the bath which increases efficiency and improves safety. The melting furnace is capable of delivering molten aluminum to a transfer ladle through the use of a pneumatic well in which there are no moving parts. Air pressure is applied to the pumper by means of a blower and molten aluminum is forced up a special...
According to preliminary estimates by the Aluminum Association aluminium demand in the United States and Canada that includes shipments by domestic producers and imports stood at an estimated 2.1 million tons for the first two months of 2017, up 2.0% over the same period of 2016. Demand for semi-fabricated (mill) products totalled 1.5 million pounds, up 3.1%. Apparent consumption (demand minus exports) in domestic markets totalled an estimated 3,886 million pounds, up 3.3% year-over-year. Aluminium net shipments (including exports) by domestic U.S. and Canadian facilities totalled an estimated 1 million tons during March, up 4.2% over the March 2016 total of 2,105 million pounds. Shipments of aluminium mill products increased 1.8% over the previous year to 1,409 million pounds, while...
Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC), Nagpur is working to develop cheaper methods to extract rare earth elements (REE) from the waste generated from aluminium industry. The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and JNARDDC have started a project on this. The project aims at developing a process to extract REE from red mud which can be easily available from aluminium industries and are considered as a hazardous waste. Dr Upendra Kumar Singh, Senior Scientist, JNARDDC and Principal Investigator of the project said, “In India, Monazite is the principal source of rare earths minerals through mining. For other REE, India was a major importer from China, but after the restriction, Government of India is planning to get it locally and...
ALPOPIC’s product ALPOLIC/PE aluminium composite material has been used on a newly completed house in Los Angeles, a unique hanging facade fabricated of ALPOLIC materials. The Tivoli house, designed and built by Electroland LLC, is the newest addition to the company’s extensive portfolio of projects that bring engaging architectural artworks to highly public spaces. McNall, founder and principal of Electroland, the designer and builder of this project, explored different material that would suit the applications. He chose aluminium composite material by ALPOLIC who agreed to manufacture the ACM panels to his requirements. The company’s aluminium composite panels are much lighter and more stable than aluminium sheets and can be easily fabricated into limitless shapes using CNC. “ALPOLIC...
Aluminium has emerged as the best performing industrial metal of 2017, as growing confidence that China will take steps to end a supply glut pushes prices to the highest level in almost three years. The industrial metal, which is used in everything from drinks cans to cars to girders for construction, has climbed close to 15 per cent this year outpacing the 2.7 per cent increase for zinc and 3.1 per cent advance for copper. Aluminium for delivery in three months is currently trading at $1,933 a tonne. Since the financial crisis, a glut of supply has cast a shadow on the market as Chinese producers have spent billions investing in new capacity and the latest smelting technology. Now, after tackling excess capacity in coal and steel industries, there are signs Chinese authorities are...
