
Spanish racing driverFernando Alonso has added a one-off Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse to his growing collection of rare cars. Known as chassis 8.100, the car is distinguished by bespoke aluminium bodywork that required more than 20 tonnes of aluminium to produce, along with dedicated CAD programmes developed by Bugatti. Its history is equally distinctive, being produced after an original customer pushed Bugatti to create something it had initially considered too expensive. For Alonso, the automobile fits closely with an approach to luxury he outlined in 2024 about choosing manufacturers that treat individual customers differently rather than simply producing cars in larger numbers. To know the aluminium casting demand forecast in the transportation sector, explore our report "Global...
Ducati has unveiled the Desmo450 SM, a new production supermoto developed from its Desmo450 MX platform, featuring an aluminium twin-spar frame. This is designed to combine low weight, rigidity and strength. The motorcycle made its debut during World Ducati Week and is aimed at competition use. The Desmo450 SM uses the same aluminium frame architecture as the motocross model. Ducati says the frame has also been designed to allow a straighter intake route while maintaining the strength and rigidity needed for high-performance riding. The bike has a fuel capacity of 7.2 litres. The company has also focused on reducing weight in other areas. Its Bartubeless wheel system, for example, removes inner tubes and cuts rotating and unsprung mass by 1.2kg. The motorcycle also features a cast...
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Bangkok's Gaysorn mall has gotten livelier with art, beginning with the exhibition "Jordy's Multidiscipline Showcase", which continues right through July. China's Yu Jordy Fu combines architecture, fashion and art to demonstrate that creativity is truly boundless. Jordy has adapted Chinese paper-cutting techniques to stainless steel and aluminium, coated the metal in white powder to create clod like structures. He has further deployed LED lights and natural illumination from the skylights to create shadows. "I've seen Jordy's works in several countries and really admire her talent," says Korakot Srivikorn, Gaysorn's executive director. "For this show we wanted her to create pieces that would fit in harmoniously with the mall." Shoppers are immediately dazzled on entering by the sight of...

N Chandrababu Naidu, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, India is making the most of his visit to China. On the very first day of his tour on Sunday, Naidu went scouting for investments in tourism, mineral exploitation and infra projects like Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC). He began by interacting with the chairman of Hanzhou Dingsheng Industry Group Zhou Xiangai, vice - general manager, Chang Weixin and chief legal counsellor Wang Xiaoqing. The Dingsheng group, which specializes in the manufacturing and sale of air-conditioning aluminium foil, has expressed their interest in mining and minerals sectors in the Indian state. Naidu asserted that Andhra Pradesh is endowed with rich mineral reserves. He also explained the advantages in investing in the state and the...

The April 2015 7.8Mw earthquake in Nepal damaged hundreds of thousands of homes across the country. As the Nepalese continue to rebuild, many of them have chosen extruded aluminium doors and windows rather than traditional wood. “Previously wood was the first choice for doors and windows. Owing to high cost, the use of wood is fast depleting and people have shifted to aluminium,” explained Anu Rajbanshi, Sales and Marketing Manager at Skylight, a firm that imports Sapa’s Technal products from France and Thai products from Thailand. “Unlike wooden windows and doors, aluminium does not fade, matches with style and design of building, requires less maintenance and paint jobs.” “The demand for aluminium doors and windows has increased by 200 per cent after the earthquake,” said Managing...

The EPL-48-1L fluorescent light fixture from Larson Electronics is a four-foot explosion proof fixture fitted with a single lamp. Lamp options include a 54-watt T5HO lamp, a 60-watt T12HO lamp, or a 32-watt T8 lamp. This fixture carries a T6 temperature rating and is approved for use in paint spray booths. The lamp is protected by a heat and impact resistant Pyrex tube and the fixture is constructed of copper free aluminium alloy. The lamp reflector is corrosion resistant and heavy gauge aluminium coated with a high gloss reflective finish. The fixture is universal voltage capable and can operate on 120 to 277 volts AC. Power connection is made through a ½” threaded wiring hub. This unit is standardly shipped with surface mount brackets that allow the unit to be mounted to any flat...

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has unveiled its first foldable electric bike - QiCycle. The smart cycle is part of the company's Mi Ecosystem. It has been priced at $455 and will be available for pre-order in China, starting today. The smart cycle flaunts a lightweight aluminium frame and weighs 13.5kg. The QiCycle with the unique aluminium frame comes with a longitudinal folding design. This means that the main beam is not folded and also ensures easy storage after folding. The bike is equipped with the TMM torque sensing technology. It senses the amount of effort put in by the rider on the pedal and provides appropriate power for a comfortable ride. The electric cycle incorporates an intelligent motion data monitoring feature that keeps track of speed, mileage, dynamic power and calories...

The makers of the Kodi media toolbox, the erstwhile Xbox Media Centre aka XBMC, has launched their first piece of hardware donning an aluminium case. The Kodi case is designed to house a Raspberry Pi 3 and turn it into a proper nice little box that can be kept ona shelf below the main TV. The Kodi Edition Raspberry Pi aluminium case is apparently a limited run special thing, built for the company by US-based manufacturer Flirc. Given that it doesn't include the actual Pi hardware the asking price is rather low, with with £16 getting pro and am tinkerers one of the cases from the UK Pi Hut. The box's aluminium housing doubles as a heat sink for the little chipset, which the maker says one should be able to plug the board into and screw into position in seconds, with the hardest part of the...

Supplier to the fenestration industry, Kestrel Aluminium Systems, has strengthened the relationship with its main supplier of extruded aluminium products, Oslo-based Sapa Profiles. Black country firm Kestrel originally started as a simple distributor of shopfront systems in 1989. However, the business has since developed considerably to include a range of complex, domestic products. All Kestrel’s products, including their Commercial Door System, Folding Sliding Door, Curtain Walling and Shopfront System use aluminium extrusions from Sapa Profiles and today Sapa supplies Kestrel with approximately 500 tonnes of aluminium each year. Kestrel Aluminium Systems managing director, Steven Shute, said: “We have worked with Sapa for many years and their knowledge of the material has been...

First quarter results for aluminium foil deliveries from European suppliers showed positive growth in domestic demand, after a sustained period of mixed or declining results. Exports, however, remain under pressure due to strong competition from non-European producers, the European Aluminium Foil Association EAFA reported. Overall the first three months of 2016 saw a small decline of 0.6 per cent in total tonnage to 217,000, compared with 218,500t for 2015, according to the latest figures released by the association.

According to a UN Report published last year, the current world population of 7.3 billion is expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and a whopping 11.2 billion in 2100. Already, says WWF, it takes a year and a half to generate the resources that the human population uses in only a year. The challenge to accommodate this burgeoning population while reducing humanity’s footprint is a major one. What this growth in any case will require are trillions of dollars of new infrastructure. And this will drive the construction industry to seek solutions for sustainable materials and innovative techniques to enable the building of affordable, energy-efficient houses while contributing to the smart use of global resources based on circular-economy principles. William McDonough +...

Cornell Dubilier Electronics (CDE) has introduced the Slimpack, type MLSH, the first in a series of hermetically-sealed aluminium electrolytic capacitors that the company plans to introduce over the next several months. With its glass-to-metal seal that prevents dry-out, the capacitor technology has extraordinarily long life to meet the most demanding applications for defence and aerospace applications, says the company. The hermetic Slimpack is a spin-off of the company’s established hermetic Flatpack series. The company expects this technology to replace parallel and series banks of wet tantalum capacitors for new and existing designs, especially where bulk storage is paramount. According to the company, the aluminium MLSH Slimpack measuring 1 x 1.5 x 0.5 inches will weigh less and will...

Kirkby Tyres, “one of the largest stockists of truck trailer and industrial wheels in the UK and Ireland," is introducing Accuride forged aluminium wheels for the European market, a brand that occupies top supply positions to American OEMs. The long established brand, manufactured in USA for over 40 years, is available in machined finish, polished finish and Accushield – an easy clean, wash-off, no-polish finish. Based in Liverpool and Dublin, Kirkby holds a large stock of steel and aluminium wheels for most applications, with popular sizes manufactured and tested to ETRTO and TÜV standards. It is also a major supplier of wheels for agricultural applications. Tony Rosenthal, general manager – OE, explains, “Kirkby can supply wheel to fit all the sizes of tyres in their extensive range to...

The global metal packaging industry has shown some signs of revivals as aluminium premium and tinplate prices have softened, though the market has still not been fully out of doldrums. Matured metal packaging markets exhibited stable growths at low levels, while emerging markets benefited from swift shifts towards the high-growth plateau. However, some of these high growth markets remained more fragmented in terms of the competitive landscape which rendered producers less control on margins. For instance, almost all multinationals cans manufacturers in China are currently struggling to make profits due to numerous reasons including overcapacity and a peculiar cost-profit relationship in the market. However, the overcapacity problem does not only exist in China but also in more matured...

3D printing service bureau i.materialise has introduced a new member to their 3D printing material family: aluminium. This is the freshest addition to Belgium-based company's 3D printed metal roster, which includes titanium and steel. 3D printing service bureau boasts an extensive list of material options comprising 21 different materials and over 100 color and finish combinations. The newly unveiled 3D printed aluminium is ideal for producing parts that are strong and lightweight, particularly useful for functional and spare parts, as well as jewelry. The 3D printed aluminium that i.materialise is now offering has a slightly more matte appearance in comparison to traditionally milled aluminium, and is a bit rougher around the edges too. To print their new aluminium material, the 3D...

Automobile parts makers will face the heat of rising commodity prices in the coming quarters. After all, in the last six months, steel prices, the key input for most auto components, rose by about 36 per cent. Aluminium and copper prices too gained across major global markets. All this means higher input costs. Logically, this will translate into higher expenses and lower profitability. An Icra Ltd report analysing 48 large-sized auto component firms shows the positive correlation in the last eight quarters. In the June quarter of fiscal year 2015, when raw material (steel, aluminium, copper) costs comprised 61.1 per cent of sales, the operating margin was 13.6 per cent. Seven quarters later in March 2016, when raw material costs fell sharply to 56.8 per cent of sales, the operating...

Gearing up for the race of the slimmest and highest-performing laptop, HP's luxurious Spectre 13.3 will take the Indian consumer by surprise. At just 10.4 mm, the feather-weight 33 cm (13") diagonal laptop is touted as the world's thinnest and it weighs just about 1.1 kilograms, thanks to its aluminium and carbon fibre built. With the Spectre 13, HP will feature its new logo. HP has crafted Spectre 13 from aluminium and carbon fibre. To give it a nearly a hingeless look, HP has gone for Piston hinges. The Spectre 13 will be available in a dark gray and copper color scheme. The aluminium-carbon fibre made notebook features 13.3-inch full HD screen with Corning Gorilla Glass (1920 x 1080) protection. It is configured with sixth generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. According to the...

In an effort to address the growing frustration of the residents over the recent bout of power outages, City Power, the electricity provider of South Africa, has developed a contingency plan that would help curb both cable theft and network overloads. City Power acting spokesperson, Yumna Sheik said,”We have started to provide electricity to informal settlements, replacing copper cables with aluminium cables and building infrastructure to curb cable theft.” The aluminium cable replacement will cost City Power R267 million but Sheik said the value of these cables is far less than that of copper cables. The power utility will, instead of simply replacing copper cables, add measures to substations that will “make it more difficult for cable theft to happen”. In April, it was reported that...

Under the well-known brand name HYLITE® the supplier 3A Composites recently started to also market aluminium composite panels with a foamed core. The core material for the 3 mm and 4 mm -panel thicknesses is foamed in a manufacturing process specially developed for this purpose. The result is an ultra-light aluminium composite panel that is up to 80 per cent lighter than conventional steel sheets or up to 60 per cent lighter than aluminium sheets yet provides the same flexural rigidity. The foamed core panel features other superlative technical properties. Major advantages include dimensional stability at high temperatures and excellent digital printing results, due to the high quality aluminium strips used in the production process. Applications range from totems or canopies over store...

The European Union on Monday, June 20, cleared packaging company Ardagh SA’s roughly $3.42 billion acquisition of assets belonging to Ball Corp. and Rexam PLC, clearing the way for the aluminium beverage can-makers’ merger. The European Commission, the bloc’s antitrust agency, said in a statement that it “concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, because Ardagh is not active in the manufacturing of aluminium beverage cans, nor on related markets.” In January, the EU waived through Ball Corp.’s £4.4 billion ($4.96 billion) acquisition of rival aluminium beverage-can maker Rexam PLC after Ball agreed to sell 12 production plants in Europe. The EU had opened an in-depth investigation into the deal, over concerns the combination of the world’s two biggest...