
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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Aluminium base LED PCB, also referred as MCPCB, has more efficient thermal transfer capability compared to rigid PCB, hence considered an ideal material for LED manufacturing. Rayming Technology started to use aluminium as base material for manufacturing LED PCB. Rayming Technology, an LED PCB manufacturer from China making rapid progress as a premier OEM supplier for the global LED manufacturing industry, recently started using aluminium as the primary base material for the LED PCB components that they manufacture. The manufacturers said that the thermally conductive PCBs that they manufacture have been proven highly effective in LED lighting system manufacturing. During a recent press conference, the owners of the China based PCB prototyping company explained the benefits of using...

The BMW R 5 Hommage is a spectacular custom motorcycle introduced to the public at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2016. The machine pays tribute to the original R 5 model released 80 years ago. This anniversary bike featuring a host of aluminium-made special parts embodies the essence of what motorcycling was back in the day, albeit in a modern, custom form. The BMW R 5 Hommage is a rather minimalist build, with everything kept clean and simple, and carefully hiding the modern, high-tech solutions behind the strong old-school vibe. The BMW R 5 Hommage features a eange of special parts that were missing in the original R 5 model. The designer duo, whom the manufacturing of the motorcycle was entrusted upon, added valve cover and the breastplate, machined from billet aluminium. Save...

Schueco Australia has taken innovation to a whole new level with the availability of a new surface finish that can be specified for their aluminium window systems to kill harmful bacteria, including multi-resistant bacteria such as MRSA and MRSAE. A product first in the Australian market, the new Schueco SmartActive is a surface finish for aluminium window systems incorporating micro-silver particles with anti-microbial properties. Germs that come into contact with this surface finish are killed immediately, actively preventing further proliferation and bacterial contamination. Given that the battle against all types of bacterial infection is being rightly seen as a public health priority, Schueco SmartActive will be warmly welcomed not just in hospitals and nursing homes, but also...

Siemens has signed a partnership deal with temporary structures specialist Herchenbach to provide semi-permanent warehouses and workshops constructed out of aluminium to projects in Europe. In a bid to reduce transport costs for heavy components in need of repair, Siemens is taking the workshop to the projects. Herchenbach provides temporary and semi-permanent aluminium structures. It has come up with a 10 x 15 metre structure, 6.4 metres tall at its highest point. The structure comprises a corrosion-free aluminium frame and a mixture of polyvinvyl chloride (PVC) industrial-grade tarpaulin in the roof and walls made of trapezoidal sheet metal and tarpaulin. Components can be lowered into the workshop through the roof, Herchenbach explained. A section of roof tarpaulin can be lifted off...

Access Fixtures, an industry leader in LED commercial, industrial, and sports lighting, announced the introduction of a new 16 watt LED stainless steel bollard light with cast aluminium louvers. Bollard lights with louver-controlled light sources are favored for their ability to limit light distribution to that which aims down toward the ground. With the LED light source blocked from direct view, the cast aluminium louvers minimize glare and limit light trespass. Manufactured with 316 stainless steel, this new bollard light is part of Access Fixtures' comprehensive lineup of LED, HID, and fluorescent light sources in stainless steel and powder-coated aluminium bollard lights from Access Fixtures. Access Fixtures offers commercial and sports lighting for less and features light fixtures...

Trends in shipbuilding have become similar to those in the automobile industry in recent years and the growing demand for automobiles, heavy duty vehicles, aircrafts, trains and ships is also set to significantly spur demand for aluminium flat rolled and extruded products. In fact, the use of aviation, marine and rail transportation will likely increase to such an extent that their combined energy demand is expected to equal about 85 per cent of the amount used by light-duty vehicles by 2040, up from about 50 per cent in 2014, according to Exxon Mobile. The necessity for lowering the weight of different ships, in order to increase the payload and reduce fuel consumption, has turned shipbuilders towards aluminium alloys due to their potential to reduce the weight of ship structures by up...

ZC Technical supplied their flat lock aluminium panels with recess for the exterior of the Cleveland Residence located right on the ocean foreshore. Completed in 2016, the residence was designed by Sprout Architects and built by Healy Homes. ZC Technical became involved in discussions with Sprout Architects, Healy Homes and the client at a very early design stage during which the company’s entire range of panel systems, materials and colours was considered for the home’s exterior. Given that the residence was situated right on the ocean foreshore, with high tide reaching its lower steps, any material specified for the exterior needed to be able to resist the saline environment. A flat lock aluminium panel system with recess from ZC Technical was chosen for its neutral simplicity and the...

The Kew Gardens in London has a novel installation in place - The Hive. A 17 meter-high swarm of aluminium, the structure has been erected in the middle of a wildflower meadow to enable visitors hear a honeybee chorus beamed direct from a hive and see it transformed into a pulsating light display. The Hive built out of aluminium bars started out as the British offering to last year’s world expo in Milan, where more than three million visitors experienced it before it was taken down and shipped back to the UK. From Saturday, June 18, it will be open to the public at Kew Gardens until the end of next year. With the help of engineers Simmonds Studio and architects BDP, it has been constructed out of 169,300 aluminium bars joined at spherical nodes to form abstracted, honeycomb-like hexagons...

Left Hand Brewing Co. is finally cracking into aluminium beverage cans. In anticipation of releasing its first batch of canned beers this year, the venerable Longmont craft brewery has broken ground on a canning facility and has filed label art paperwork with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Left Hand spokeswoman Emily Armstrong said. “We’re humbled; we’ve been so fortunate to have success with our Nitro series,” she said. “We’re glad to have this additional opportunity that we had the means to bring Left Hand cans to reality.” If all goes as planned, the first Left Hand beverage cans — Extrovert IPO, Fade to Black export stout and Milk Stout — could hit shelves this year, she said. Left Hand beer in aluminium cans was a long time coming, but the delay was intentional. A few...

Larson Electronics, a leading manufacturer and distributor of industrial lighting solutions, announces the release of a 60 watt LED work light mounted to a portable frame fabricated from non-sparking aluminium. The WAL-PM-WP60 portable LED work light from Larson Electronics provides a 5,400 lumen floodlight beam and is a direct replacement for hot and fragile 500 watt halogen work lights. This 60 watt LED lamp head consists of six 12.5 watt LEDs concealed within a waterproof aluminium housing powder coated for durability and corrosion resistance. The light assembly is constructed of three boards that help provide a wider spread of light, with a center board and two 45-degree angled boards. The LED boards and reflectors are protected by a scratch and shatter resistant polycarbonate lens...

Airbus’ 3D printed mini plane, THOR, featuring aluminium wings, drew much attention at the ILA Berlin Air Show just a couple weeks ago. The unmanned aircraft, made almost entirely from 3D printed parts (except for its electrical components), was successfully flown this past November and has marked a significant step in the integration of 3D printing for the aerospace industry. More than that, however, Airbus will be using their innovative 3D printed mini aircraft as a testbed for new airplane technologies and low risk experiments. According to the European aircraft manufacturer, they will use THOR to efficiently test different 3D printed structural parts, advanced aerodynamics, and even artificial intelligence. As Airbus explains, the second generation THOR model will be able to...

Global packaging giant Amcor has flagged the likelihood of plant restructures and closures following its recent $450m profit impairment. The company revealed plans to ‘streamline the organisation’ stating it will ‘likely result in the restructuring or closure of several plants in developed markets’. Amcor’s push for global restructure comes soon after its Venezuelan operations cost a profit loss of $350m following its acquisition of flexible packaging firm Alusa, and a loss of $100m from tobacco operational restructures. The packaging company expects to generate a pre-tax return of approximately 35 per cent on the cash invested within three years, delivering a profit before interest and tax benefit of US$40m to US$50m. Amcor chief executive Ron Delia says the plant closures and streamline...

The Burnaby-based West Coast Canning, who packages liqour in aluminium cans for some of the most talked-about craft breweries of Vancouver, has teamed up with Wet Ape Productions to organize CANcity, Vancouver’s first all-canned craft beer and cider sampling event. Wet Ape Productions is the same company behind the Oktoberfest-lite Harvest Haus and Kelowna’s Center of Gravity. Canned beer though not so popular in Vancouver is supposed gain acceptance as the mercury rises across the province, expects West Coast Canning. The benefits of packaging beverage in aluminium cans cannot be denied, especially in the summer. The metal provides excellent barrier protection against sunrays and environmental pollutants while remaining chemically neutral to the liquid inside. “For a long time, people...

A newly formed alliance called ALTec Industrial research R&D Group is consolidating research efforts in the Canadian aluminium sector to develop innovative aluminium products for ground transportation vehicles. As a cost-effective and sustainable material, aluminium is increasingly being used to manufacture components for lightweight vehicles which reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and meet increasingly stringent fuel consumption requirements. "By 2020, the world aluminium market in the transportation sector alone is forecasted to represent more than 65 billion US dollars," says Michel Dumoulin, General Manager of Automotive and Surface Transportation at the National Research Council of Canada. "Canadian businesses include aluminium in the design of their vehicles, but we saw a gap in...

Leading Australian provider of aluminium window and door framing suites, EDGE Architectural has expanded its framing suites with the EDGE Ecosystem, a community of people, organizations, suppliers, processes and elements interacting to create a network of support. This ecosystem includes EDGE Consult for technical and specification consultation; Team EDGE providing quoting, ordering and manufacturing support for the fabricator; extruding with tight process management and strict standards of quality control; surface finishing for the final touch; components suppliers ensuring the highest standards of quality and customer service; innovation through collaboration; and a responsive, reliable, local and supported supply chain. EDGE Architectural partners with some of the best Australian...

Australian energy technology company LWP Technologies has bought a 50 per cent share in a new, graphene-based battery storage technology that the ASX-listed company believes could “change energy markets and the way the world commutes.” The $1.6 million deal, described by LWP on Wednesday as a ”major value-adding step” for the company, will see it enter into a joint venture to commercialise the patent pending aluminium-graphene synthesis and battery technology with its Australian-based inventor. The battery – which comprises an Aluminium-Graphene-Oxygen chemistry – is said to be safer and more stable than lithium-ion batteries, and is shown to have vastly superior energy density. But perhaps even more significant is the patent that describes the chemical synthesis process to manufacture...

Legos have been everywhere on Earth in the sixty-seven years since Denmark’s Ole Kirk Christiansen invented them in 1949, as anyone who has ever stepped on one while barefoot can certainly attest. However, in two years a set of aluminium Legos will travel a total distance of 1.74 billion miles to orbit the largest planet in our Solar System, ultimately dying a fiery death upon entering Jupiter’s atmosphere. Jupiter (left), Juno, and Galileo. Source: NASA Adding the three figurines to the JUpiter Near-polar Orbiter (Juno), one representing seventeenth-century Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, one of the likeness of the Roman god Jupiter, and one of the Roman goddess Juno, was the idea of Juno’s Principal Investigator Scott Bolton. He saw it as an opportunity to connect with and inspire...

Interlocking aluminium cassette panels from ZC Technical were installed on a house as cladding for the structure’s box-shaped elements, creating a very distinctive feature. Built in 2013 based on the owner’s design, the 200-square-metre Western Rivers residence incorporated unique box-shaped elements, which needed to be clad for a finished look. However, it was important to choose a material that didn’t need ongoing maintenance because the areas were difficult to access. Though the owner loved the striking colour of copper, there were concerns that the naturally occurring waviness would take away from its sharpness. ZC Technical offered the option of copper textured painted aluminium, which was found suitable for the project. The interlocking panels provided an impeccably smooth finish...