Constellium and UACJ form joint venture for aluminum automotive sheet
May 13, 2014
Source:
Constellium N.V., Paris, and UACJ Corp., Japan, have signed a Joint Venture Agreement to supply Body-in-White aluminum sheet to the North American automotive industry, following their January 2014 announcement of plans to collaborate.
The JV will have an initial target capacity of 100,000 metric tons supplied by cold rolled coils from both partners' rolling mills. The facility, which will be located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, will be designed to allow for expansion beyond 100,000 tons. The total joint investment is expected to be approximately $150 million. Production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2016, with full capacity reached by 2018.
"Bowling Green is the right place for this plant, particularly because its central location will allow us to serve automotive OEMs across the United States with our advanced and innovative range of products," commented Laurent Musy, President of Constellium's Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products business unit. "The availability of a highly skilled local labor force and the entrepreneurial spirit of the area were the decisive factors in choosing the city of Bowling Green and the state of Kentucky, which has been very supportive during the decision process".
"This project is very significant for UACJ in terms of our Body-in-White market strategy. We look forward to supplying automotive OEMs throughout the Unted States with advanced products utilizing the technologies each party has separately developed in the EU and Japan. We welcome this Joint Venture with Constellium to tackle the strategic automotive market in the U.S.," said Mitsuru Okada, CEO of UACJ. "Both companies have been working hard together in the spirit of equal partnership, allowing us to finalize the agreement in a timely and efficient manner."
www.constellium.com
Constellium N.V., Paris, and UACJ Corp., Japan, have signed a Joint Venture Agreement to supply Body-in-White aluminum sheet to the North American automotive industry, following their January 2014 announcement of plans to collaborate.
Continue reading
SSAB high strength steels and wear plates meet all requirements for laser cutting
April 30, 2014
Source:
SSAB, Sweden, reports that both its Hardox and Domex high-strength steels meet all demands for laser cutting and can be processed with the same cutting parameters as unalloyed steel grades such as S235. All Hardox and Domex steels can be perfectly laser cut because of their consistent steel properties, tight thickness tolerances, outstanding flatness, and surface finish, as well as optimized chemical composition. The high steel quality also allows for smaller radii and ensures accurate results when bending.
"Contrary to popular belief, a laser beam has the same effect regardless of whether a material is soft or hard," explains Anders Ivarson, a thermal cutting and welding specialist at the SSAB Knowledge Service Center. Since a laser beam is bundled light made up of a certain wavelength, it does not matter whether the light is directed at a hard or a soft steel, the material is heated regardless.
"For example, the melting temperature of our High Strength Steel Domex 700 is exactly the same as that of S235GR, which includes no alloying elements of any kind. This is why a laser cutting machine with the same parameters can cut Domex 355, 420 or 700 equally well," explains Mr. Ivarson.
The experiences of Bystronic, one of the leading manufacturers of laser cutting machines also confirms this. "During our in-house exhibition, we processed Hardox and Domex exclusively and were able to show around 900 visitors from 50 countries that it is possible to cut and bend this material perfectly, even in larger thicknesses. Currently there is still a certain level of reluctance by our customers to use such high strength material – but without cause," says Mario Duppenthaler, Product Manager Laser & Automation at Bystronic.
www.ssab.com
SSAB, Sweden, reports that both its Hardox and Domex high-strength steels meet all demands for laser cutting and can be processed with the same cutting parameters as unalloyed steel grades such as S235.
Continue reading
Castrip to build build steel plant for thin-strip casting process
Source:
Castrip LLC, Charlotte, N.C., has signed a license agreement with one of North America's fastest growing steelmakers to build and operate a plant utilizing the Castrip thin-strip casting process. The new casting facility will have the capability to produce 500,000 tons of thin-gauge, high-strength sheet steel for local manufacturing and construction markets. Castrip has not revealed the name of the steelmaker or the location of the plant.
The independent EAF steelmaker will be the first licensee outside of Nucor to build a Castrip facility. Nucor owns and operates thin-strip casting facilities in Crawfordsville, Ind., and Blytheville, Ark.
"We are very pleased to add another partner to the Castrip family that is well suited technically and commercially to exploit this game changing technology," said Frank Fisher, President of Castrip LLC.
The process equipment and technical services for the new facility will be provided by a consortium comprised of Siemens Metals Technologies, IHI, and Castrip LLC. IHI and Siemens are licensed exclusively by Castrip LLC to provide core equipment for Castrip facilities. The consortium has developed an optimized supply model for world-wide distribution of all new Castrip plants.
The new twin-roll casting and rolling plant will produce UCS (Ultra-thin Cast Strip) coils up to 1680mm wide, with gauge ranging between 0.8mm – 1.8mm. Start-up of the new Castrip facility is expected in early 2016.
Castrip LLC is a joint venture of Nucor Corp., BlueScope Steel of Australia, and IHI Corp. of Japan. The partnership was formed to market and license the intellectual property developed jointly by its three owners, related to the twin-roll casting of carbon and stainless steels. Castrip LLC currently holds more than 1500 patents and patents pending related to strip casting.
http://www.castrip.com
Castrip LLC, Charlotte, N.C., has signed a license agreement with one of North America’s fastest growing steelmakers to build and operate a plant utilizing the Castrip thin-strip casting process.
Continue reading
Vac-Aero commissions vacuum furnace at New Hampshire castings manufacturer
March 20, 2014
Source:
Vac-Aero International Inc., Burlington, Ontario, has commissioned the first of two vacuum furnaces at a castings manufacturer in New Hampshire. The hot zone of the VAH5050 HV-2 is comprised of curved graphite elements and the heavy-duty hearth is constructed with easily removed rails of pure molybdenum designed to support a uniformly distributed load of 3000 lb at 2400°F.
The horizontal vacuum furnace has work zone dimensions 36 in. wide x 36 in. high x 50 in. deep. The lightweight design's low thermal mass enables faster quenching and longer life. The furnace is equipped with an external recirculating inert gas quenching system and includes gas storage and dual loop cooling systems. The furnace operating system is based on VAC AERO's versatile HC900 interactive hybrid control package with SCADA, complete network integration capabilities, and remote monitoring and control.
www.vacaero.com
Vac-Aero International Inc., Burlington, Ontario, has commissioned the first of two vacuum furnaces at a castings manufacturer in New Hampshire.
Continue reading
EOS expands 3D printing materials with Ti64ELI and StainlessSteel 316L for medical devices
Source:
EOS of North America, Novi, Mich., expands its metal materials portfolio with EOS Titanium Ti64ELI and EOS StainlessSteel 316L. The goal is to offer a broader range of titanium and stainless steel materials and open up new fields of application for components fabricated by laser sintering of powder metals. Ti64ELI provides high-detail resolution. StainlessSteel 316L provides high ductility for medical applications such as surgical instruments and orthopedics.
Parts built in EOS Titanium Ti64 have a chemical composition and mechanical properties corresponding to ASTM F136. Providing a high-detail resolution, this alloy can be processed on an EOSINT M 280 (400 Watt) metal laser-sintering system and shows an excellent corrosion resistance. Due to its biocompatibility and high grade of purity it is particularly suited for the additive manufacturing of medical implants.
EOS StainlessSteel 316L has been optimized specifically for processing on the EOSINT M 280 metal laser-sintering system. It shows a good corrosion resistance and a high ductility. Parts built from EOS StainlessSteel 316L have a chemical composition corresponding to ASTM F138 ("Standard Specification for Wrought 18Cr-14Ni-2.5Mo Stainless Steel Bar and Wire for Surgical Implants UNS S31673"). In the medical industry, this alloy is particularly suited for surgical instruments, endoscopic surgery, orthopedics and implants.
The material is also a good choice for use in the watch and jewelry industries, where the designer benefits from extensive freedom of design. Shaping and structural restrictions as such are a thing of the past. Parts such as watch cases (thanks to defined hollow spaces) can be manufactured more cost-efficiently and easily, saving resources. The material is also well suited for additive manufacturing applications such as spectacle frames or functional elements in yachts. In the aerospace industry, EOS StainlessSteel is a good choice for the manufacture of clamping elements or heat exchangers. Parts manufactured from that material can be mechanically post-processed or polished.
www.eos.info
EOS of North America, Novi, Mich., expands its metal materials portfolio with EOS Titanium Ti64ELI and EOS StainlessSteel 316L.
Continue reading
Basque Research studies effects of short, fast, cryogenic cycles on steel
Source:
Basque Research, Spain, has been developing cryogenic treatments for steel in a program that has the goal of understanding both the microstructural changes and the mechanisms that cause them when steel is cooled to cryogenic temperatures below −153°C. One process currently being explored is a multi-phase cryogenic treatment based on the repetition of short, fast, cryogenic cycles.
It allows processing time to be considerably reduced, which enables energy consumption and costs to be cut. The results achieved with this type of process are said to be better than those achieved by conventional cryogenic treatments. Researchers are also exploring the application of cryogenic treatment between hardening and tempering.
Conventional cryogenic treatment consists of slowly cooling the material to about −180 ºC, keeping it at that temperature for a long period of time, and then reheating it to ambient temperature. The fact that it takes so long is a clear problem.
http://www.basqueresearch.com
Basque Research, Spain, has been developing cryogenic treatments for steel in a program based on the repetition of short, fast, cryogenic cycles.
Continue reading
Harper wins contracts worth $38 million for carbon fiber production systems
March 10, 2014
Source:
Harper International, Buffalo, N.Y., has been awarded contracts worth $38 million for advanced three meter wide oxidation ovens, LT and HT carbonization systems, waste gas abatement systems, fiber handling, and integrated additional unit operations, controls, and services. Harper's proprietary atmospheric seals reduce fugitive emissions, increase the active volume of the oven, and offer reduced energy consumption over alternatives.
For the customer, this and other technology advancements equal optimized fiber quality and production rates due to faster oxidation, improved velocity uniformity and range capability, assured temperature uniformity, and optimal control of the reaction.
"Harper's cutting-edge technology combined with our respected Pulse service program provides customers with the most secure path to success in Carbon Fiber production," says Charles Miller, President at Harper. "We strive to be identified as offering the most superior technology on the market for a range of fiber precursors, from research scale Microlines, to the largest scale production plants in the industry."
www.harperintl.com
Harper International, Buffalo, N.Y., has been awarded contracts worth $38 million for advanced three meter wide oxidation ovens, LT and HT carbonization systems, waste gas abatement systems, fiber handling, and integrated additional unit operations, controls, and services.
Continue reading
Nadcap awards Merit status to Solar Atmospheres of Western PA
February 5, 2014
Source:
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA), Hermitage, announces that it has been awarded Nadcap Merit status for vacuum heat treating and brazing of metals. The successful November 2013 audit marks ten years of doing business as a Nadcap supplier. Having demonstrated SAWPA's ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer requirements and industry specifications, the Nadcap Task Group has determined that SAWPA has earned the prestigious honor of being a Merit status supplier.
Among other benefits, Merit status means that SAWPA has been granted an accreditation that lasts two years, through January 2016, instead of the standard one-year accreditation.
Susan Generalovich, SAWPA Quality Manager, says, "Achieving Nadcap accreditation with Merit could not have been accomplished without the help and understanding of each and every Solar employee. I would especially like to recognize Bob Hill, SAWPA president, for his unwavering support. Upper management support is a key to a smartly run organization. Top down encouragement and drive for excellence, achieves excellence!"
"Achieving Nadcap accreditation is not easy: it is one of the ways in which the aerospace industry identifies those who excel at manufacturing quality product through superior special processes. Companies such as Solar Atmospheres of Western PA go above and beyond achieving Nadcap accreditation to obtain Merit status and they should be justifiably proud of it," said Joe Pinto, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Performance Review Institute.
"Benefitting from a less audit schedule reduces audit costs and associated pressures and demonstrates the trust that the aerospace industry has in Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, based on their past performance in Nadcap audits."
www.solaratm.com
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA), Hermitage, announces that it has been awarded Nadcap Merit status for vacuum heat treating and brazing of metals.
Continue reading
The Metal Treating Institute reports year-to-date sales
Source:
The Metal Treating Institute, Jacksonville, Fla., reports that year-to-date sales for the Metal Treating Industry for December 2013 were $877.0 million. This is a decrease of 2.0% from 2012, when sales for January-December equaled $894.5 million.
Sales for the Metal Treating Industry for December 2013 totaled $66.8 million, an increase of 7.6% from 2012, when sales for December equaled $62.1 million.
Seven out of the nine MTI districts reported higher sales in December 2013 compared to the previous year.
www.heattreat.net
The Metal Treating Institute, Jacksonville, Fla., reports that year-to-date sales for the Metal Treating Industry for December 2013 were $877.0 million.
Continue reading 
