HexaTech, Inc. has announced the immediate production release of its new 100 mm diameter single-crystal aluminum nitride (AlN) substrate, marking a significant step in the company's efforts to scale up manufacturing of the advanced semiconductor material. The launch builds on its earlier three-inch diameter substrate introduction and strengthens its product portfolio for commercial optoelectronic and high-power radio frequency (RF) applications. The company, which describes itself as the world's leading commercial supplier of single-crystal physical vapour transport (PVT)-grown AlN substrates, said the new product combines material performance with production scale and customer value. 100 mm launch marks another step in substrate development The latest product launch follows a focused...
Phinergy and electrical contractor Rosendin Electric have published a second white paper examining how aluminium-air generators (AAGs) could support data centre power needs beyond conventional backup systems. The paper outlines three potential uses, including providing power for AI and cloud facilities, increasing available grid capacity and supporting renewable microgrids. Titled “From Backup Power to Grid Enabler: Use Cases for Aluminum-Air Generator (AAG) in AI-Era Data Centers,” the paper compares aluminium-air generators with diesel generators and lithium-ion battery systems. The report comes amid growing pressure on electricity infrastructure from data centre expansion. In Northern Virginia, more than 9,000 backup diesel generators serve data centres, according to Virginia Mercury....
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Merida Bikes International, the German engineered bike nanufacturer has formally announced details of its new Scultura Disc. The new Scultura Disc is available in both carbon-fibre and aluminium frame variants. The carbon-fibre models feature 12mm thru-axles front and rear, and 160mm disc rotors – following a trend in disc brake road bike design that we discussed in an article on road.cc last weekend – and a new means of heat dissipation. The Scultura is Merida’s lightweight race bike, already available in various different rim brake builds including the 4.55kg Scultura 9000 Ltd. “The brand new Scultura Disc… combines the comfortable but also stiff and efficient riding characteristics of the rim brake variant with the general benefits of disc brakes,” says Merida. “The whole...
Aston Martin will follow its recently unveiled DB11 with a minimum of five all-new models in the next four years. They will span three distinct model lines and form part of a plan to build 7000 cars per year by 2020. The DB11, a GT, was revealed at the recent Geneva motor show and will be on sale in the summer. It will be joined next year by an all-new Vantage sports car heavily inspired by the DB10 created for the James Bond film Spectre and by a replacement for the Vanquish in 2018. Both models will be built on versions of the DB11’s all-new aluminium architecture in Aston’s core sports and GT model line. By the end of the decade, Aston will also have on sale two models with no direct predecessors in new, separate model lines: the DBX crossover and an all-new Lagonda saloon. The model...
Meizu M3 Note has been unveiled in China with 6000 series aluminium unibody and mTouch 2.1 fingerprint scanner starting at CNY 799 and will be available for purchase from April 11. Dubbed as the budget friendly smartphone similar to that of critically acclaimed m1 note and m3 note, the latest release of aluminium unibody-m3 note also packs in a wide range of latest technological innovations widely found in competing smartphones. While the 2GB RAM variant, priced at CNY 799 ($125) is equipped with 16GB internal storage, the 3GB RAM is equipped with 32GB storage space with a price tag of CNY 999 ($155). Both models offer eMMC 5.1 solid state chip storage and come with microSD expansion slots, which also serve as a second SIM card slot. The aluminium uni-body, integrated with Meizu m3 Note...
The Micromill is Alcoa’s proprietary technology that manufactures the most advanced aluminium sheet on the market, according to Alcoa. Since being introduced in December 2014, Alcoa has achieved some significant breakthroughs, producing more formable aluminium sheet, with greater strength, lighter weight and higher formability. The Micromill process, according to Alcoa, changes the microstructure of the metal, producing an aluminium alloy sheet with unique microstructure that has 40 per cent greater formability and 30 per cent greater strength than the incumbent automotive aluminium sheet produced in rolling mills, all while at the same time meeting stringent automotive surface quality requirements. Moreover, automotive parts made with Micromill made material will be twice as formable and...
Benetti has launched the new 45 metre custom superyacht Domani this week for an Owner with a passion for cruising the world. The Owner’s fourth Benetti, Domani was built for an expert sailor who loves cruising with his family across the globe. His extensive experience, along with Benetti’s construction expertise, resulted in a superyacht suitable for intensive use. The external design of this four deck steel and aluminium yacht is the result of Benetti’s in-house design team while her interior styling was created by Carlo Galeazzi with considerable input from the owner and builder. The efficient use of space is one of the peculiarities of this below 500GT full displacement yacht, offering a deceptive amount of room for a 45 metre thanks to the use of established Benetti platforms. The sky...
Vivocom Intl Holdings Bhd’s (Vivocom) subsidiary, Neata Aluminium (M) Sdn Bhd (Neata), was awarded RM37.5 million worth of contracts yesterday, with the latest projects being Third Avenue Cyberjaya for an amount of RM22.5 million, and Kemensah Development for an amount of RM15 million for the supply and installation of aluminium works. This announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday is the latest in a series of solid wins for Neata, a subsidiary of Vivocom, a leading conglomerate in the sectors of construction, telecommunications and now manufacturing. “Since the acquisition by Vivocom last year, our business has grown by leaps and bounds, in particular our aluminium manufacturing and installation business. “We have secured almost RM80 million worth of contracts during the past nine months...
The recently launched Mazda CX-3, a taller version of the Mazda 2, certainly looks the part with chunkier appearance and immaculate exterior complemented by a simple yet modern interior. What impresses most with Mazda cars is the company’s KODO design language. On the CX-3, the language is expressed externally through short overhangs, powerful lines and striking proportions. The CX-3’s bold face centres on the grille and extends through the chromed signature wings into the headlamps. The rear combination lamps stretch from the body into the liftgate with a shape echoing the headlamps. The Mazda CX-3 features a 16-inch aluminium wheels on the Active and Dynamic models and 18-inch aluminium wheels which feature five sets of double spokes with a machined outer finish that contrasts with the...
Kengo Kuma and Associates has built an art centre with an intricate aluminium-moulded facade at a former cotton mill in China, which has been converted into a shop and office complex. Kengo Kuma's Japan-based firm converted the entire 10,440-square-metre mill to create the new retail, office and art centre called Wuxi Vanke, which is located near Taihu Lake on the outskirts of Shanghai. The art centre occupies an extension to the old brick building. Its complex facade comprises hundreds of cast aluminium panels, which are arranged in an alternating pattern of solid and void to give the building a wavy outline. The porous form of the metal panels is modelled on Taihu stone, a type of limestone with water-worn hollows and perforations common in the region. Each piece of aluminium was cast...
A new laptop unveiled by HP today will be the thinnest in the world. At 0.4 inches (10.4mm) thick, the Spectre 13 Ultrabook is thinner than AAA batteries and both thinner and lighter than Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air. It breaks the previous record held by its own 0.49-inch thick (12.4mm) EliteBook Folio G1 enterprise Ultrabook. In terms of weight, the new copper-toned notebook is not the lightest device around, weighing 2.45 pounds (1.11kg). Most of the body is dark grey aluminium with bronze along the sides. "Carbon fibre and aluminium craftsmanship give this device the look and feel of pure luxury. The two-tone finish on the copper-coloured spine is an example of the beauty of contrast," the company said. A big difference with this new model is that the new Spectre is powered by Intel...
In response to the recent furor over LG G5 smartphone make after reviews started flowing in from various markets where it has been launched, the mobile phone manufacturer has released a statement confirming “unequivocally” that the LG G5 unibody casing is built from aluminium. The handset’s design first came into question when a video released on a leading social media site showed that on being scratched, the outer layer of the handset revealed a plastic like casing. But LG completely denies that its new flagship smartphone is built from anything other than metal. “Contrary to erroneous reports online that the LG G5 body is composed of plastic, LG would like to state unequivocally that the uni-body casing of the G5 is composed of a special aluminium alloy, LM201,” writes LG. According to...
BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking) in Mumbai got a revamped fleet of 83 buses last Sunday at a cost of INR 7 crore, with 147 more to arrive in the coming weeks. The buses have aluminium bodies, which will not corrode in Mumbai's weather, and a host of other features, including mobile charging points and a blower unit for drivers. The charging points have been introduced for the first time in non-AC buses in the country, officials said. Senior officials said the new fleet, created by remodelling some steel-body buses, will roll out from this week, promising a comfortable ride to commuters on busy office routes during peak hours. "The steel bodies would corrode during the monsoon and there would be complaints of buses rattling and roofs leaking. We have solved the...
GG Glass & Glazing, one of the UK’s leading contract glazing specialists, has opted for Supertrucks built from aluminium extrusions, for transporting glass sheets to retail outlets and other commercial premises where it supplies its range of products. Based on 7.5-tonne Isuzu chassis, the vehicles feature an innovative double A-frame design concept. This offers four facings and means sheets of glass measuring more than 3.2 metres in height and 4.5 metres in length can be crane-loaded from the rear. The first of the new trucks is now working from the GG Glass and Glazing’s Liverpool headquarters, with the second due to enter service shortly at a depot in Leeds, one of six which the company operates nationwide. St Helens-based Supertrucks, meanwhile, is the country’s number one manufacturer...
With consumption of beverages such as soft drinks in stylish, attractively contoured cans rapidly catching up with both urban youth as well as rural folk in the country, aluminium beverage can manufacturers like Rexam and Can-Pack are experiencing a consistent upward spiral in business. Interestingly, though the aluminium beverage cans market in the country is on a high growth trajectory, it is still to catch up with the Western and other developed countries. In fact, a large chunk of the Indian aluminium beverage cans market belongs to the beer segment. Shanker Gopalkrishnan, president, Madras Consultancy Group (management consulting, and market research services), Chennai, explains, “The total market share for aluminium 2-piece beverage cans was tiny compared to the global market of...
Anheuser-Busch InBev has started construction on a US$175m aluminium bottle line in Florida as it looks to increase production of the format. The new line, at Anheuser-Busch's Metal Container Corp facility in Jacksonville, will produce Budweiser and Bud Light aluminium bottles, the company said yesterday. It is AB InBev's second aluminium bottle line in the US since it launched the format in 2013 from its St Louis facility. "The aluminium bottle has become overwhelmingly popular with beer drinkers, and we are proud to break ground on a new line in Jacksonville that will further expand production," said Dave Taylor, president of Metal Container Corp. The new line, which will create about 75 jobs, was first announced last year. Metal Container Corp is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch that...
Airbus and Fokker Technologies are partnering for research on automated production of fiber metal laminate (FML), lightweight layers of aluminium and glass fiber. Early FML, also called Glare, was used on the upper fuselage and the vertical stabilizer of the Airbus A380. Automated production and next-generation fiber will improve FML performance and reduce cost. Maarten van Mourik, Fokker director for large commercial aircraft, says FML has better material properties than aluminium, especially in fatigue resistance, allowing for lighter designs. “FML also offers considerable weight advantages versus polymer composites in smaller fuselages because these composites carry a weight penalty, due to minimum thickness for damage tolerance.” While fatigue resistance is FML’s chief advantage, it...
Seagate Technology PLC, the leading American data storage company, has unveiled Innov8, the world's first USB-powered desktop hard drive. All the power that the 8TB Innov8 drive needs is delivered along with the data down a single, reversible USB-C cable thanks to a feature that Seagate is calling Ignition Boost. The all-new USB-powered desktop hard drive is housed in an all-aluminium enclosure that's both sturdy and well-balanced. All Innov8 drives come with Seagate Dashboard software, which offers users either one-click on-demand or customizable, scheduled backups for their devices. Also included is 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage and Lyve software compatibility, so users can back up, access and share their data from any device (Android and iOS) or location. The drive enclosed...
As automobile manufacturers and operators look for ways to improve fuel economy and freight efficiency, lightweighting tops the list. Investing in lightweighting is an attractive and economical alternative to adding new equipment, potentially saving fleets nearly $1 million over five years, according to a recent “Confidence Report on Lightweighting” by Trucking Efficiency, an initiative of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and the Carbon War Room (CWR) that aims to double the efficiency of the North American trucking fleet. “When lightweighting is looked at not only in terms of better fuel economy but also [in terms of] improved freight efficiency, it makes sense in a wide variety of applications,” says Mike Roeth, operation lead at Trucking Efficiency. One...
A public park in Dublin, Ohio is to be the recipient of an aluminium statue that the artist hopes will foster more connectedness in a world that she believes is more and more divided. “We focus too much on what makes us different instead of what connects us,” said Olga Ziemska, an artist from nearby Cleveland. “I am an avid watcher of what connects me to others. I’m always looking for universality and that’s what I try to underline in my work.” With that vision in mind, the Dublin Arts Council awarded Ziemska a US$150,000 commission to install two pieces of art in the city’s Thaddeus Kosciuszko Park. The first part of this installation is named “Feather Point,” and consists of a twenty-one-foot-tall aluminium feather. The second piece, named “Universal Gathering,” is planned to be a cast...
