United States Steel reports 2017 earnings of $387 million, vs. 2016 loss of $440 million
February 2, 2018 Source: ASM International
United States Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, reports full-year 2017 net earnings of $387 million, compared to full-year 2016 net loss of $440 million, as investments in upgrading equipment in its flat-rolled segment helped to improve performance.
Continue readingDanieli to build JSW Steel “Plate Mill of the Future” in Texas for higher quality and precision
June 26, 2017 Source:
JSW Steel (USA) Baytown, Texas, has received preliminary Board approval, contingent upon securing governmental financial support, to proceed with a full-scale modernization project expected to take approximately 20 months to complete. The new state-of-the-art discrete plate mill will significantly increase product offerings while improving customer service with exceptional quality. "While perfecting the unique plate and contiguous pipe mill facility in Baytown over the last two years, our engineering teams have been concurrently working to design the 'Plate Mill of the Future,'" says John Hritz, President and CEO of JSW Steel (USA).
JSW (USA) has awarded the project to Danieli, a world leader in steelmaking technology. "Danieli is the perfect partner for the modernization because they have been in business for more than 100 years and understand the level of quality and precision that the project will require."
As part of JSW's vision for the future, the plate mill modernization is the first phase of a much larger project under consideration by the Board. The second phase includes the construction of a new state-of-the-art melting and casting facility in the United States, utilizing new technologically superior and eco‑friendly processes. A location has not yet been determined for the melting and casting facility. If fully implemented, the new melting and casting facility is expected to create 500 new high wage American jobs over the course of three years. It would also increase JSW (USA)'s ability to supply defense, as well as energy pipeline and domestic infrastructure projects, a goal of the Trump administration for both national security and economic reasons.
"This is the perfect time in U.S. history to implement our vision; we finally have an environment that supports the expansion and technological advancement of the domestic steel industry," Mr. Hritz added. "We feel this project is fully in sync with rebuilding the American infrastructure promoted by the Trump administration."
"With this modernization, JSW (USA) will become a low cost producer of exceptional, high quality plate and will be able to significantly increase market share in the ever-strong U.S. market," said Parth Jindal, Director, JSW (USA). "With the thrust on manufacturing back, JSW feels there is no better time to invest in the U.S. market. The JSW Group's consideration to invest in JSW Steel (USA)'s expansion represents a vote of confidence in the future of U.S. manufacturing."
JSW Steel (USA) Baytown, Texas, has received preliminary Board approval, contingent upon securing governmental financial support, to proceed with a full-scale modernization project expected to take approximately 20 months to complete.
Continue readingLindberg/MPH ships gas fired zinc melting, holding furnace for diecasting
March 30, 2017 Source:
Lindberg/MPH, Riverside, Mich., has shipped a gas-fired melting and holding furnace with a maximum temperature of 850°F for melting and holding up to 45,000 pounds of molten zinc for diecasting. The furnace incorporates seven immersion tubes, each with its own burner and ratio regulator control.
The system is rated at 2,300,000 BTU/hr. The furnace temperature controller includes a PID loop and LED display. The furnace includes an adjacent pump well with stainless steel weir to isolate dross. A splash shield was added to protect combustion piping from molten metal contact. The 180°F exhaust deflector improves efficiency and reduces noise.
"The design of this system facilitates energy-efficient melting and holding of the zinc and precise temperature control. Lindberg/MPH also supplied control and power wiring." – Andrew Paul
This Lindberg/MPH furnace features individually operable spark ignited burners with flame rod flame safety. Each burner has its own gas/air ratio regulator assuring the correct air and gas mixture for dependable ignition and efficient combustion. On-off firing allows for a wide input range virtually eliminating temperature creep.
Lindberg/MPH, Riverside, Mich., has shipped a gas-fired melting and holding furnace with a maximum temperature of 850°F for melting and holding up to 45,000 pounds of molten zinc for diecasting.
Continue reading$1.5 million project to research monitoring digital production machines from the cloud
December 23, 2016 Source:
Researchers and analysts from Penn State University, Case Western Reserve University, the GE Global Research Center, and Microsoft announce that they are working on a $1.5 million collaborative research project to develop a cloud-based wireless sensing and prognostic system for monitoring machinery health. The initiative will make it possible for the system to detect early signs of wear, aging. and fault conditions.
The federally funded Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) is providing $750,000 in funding, while the other four entities are matching that amount through a cost-sharing agreement.
The project, called Cloud-Enabled Machines with Data-Driven Intelligence, is set to begin Feb. 1 and will be funded by DMDII for 18 months. The Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME), which is housed within the Penn State IME department, is a 10,000-square-foot integrated high-bay laboratory for teaching and research, and is equipped with modern and legacy equipment. To demonstrate the cloud-based manufacturing systems with data-driven intelligence, both legacy machines and general-purpose computer numeric control machines will be used as test cases.
Dazhong Wu, senior research associate in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME); and Janis Terpenny, professor and Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Chair and Head of IME, all of Penn State, are the lead researchers of the project.
They are joined by Robert Gao, Cady Staley Professor of Engineering and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University; Li Zhang, senior research scientist for industrial Internet of Things (IoT) at GE Global Research Center; and Mark Beckmann, senior manager at Microsoft.
"The emergence of cloud computing, machine learning, and the IoT technologies makes it possible for a machine to function as an agent that is capable of intelligent behaviors, such as automatic fault and failure detection, self-diagnosis and proactive maintenance scheduling," says Dr. Wu.
"The overall goal of this research is to establish a generic framework for real-time process monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis for smart manufacturing using cloud computing and big data analytics," says Dr. Wu. "The outcome of this project has the potential to enable manufacturers to implement artificial intelligence into manufacturing machines."
DMDII was launched in 2014 through a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense and other partners to transform American manufacturing through digitization of the supply chain. The institute currently has more than 250 partner organizations from industry, academia, government, startups and community groups. DMDII is the first lab of UI LABS and is a member of the Manufacturing USA network.
Researchers and analysts from Penn State, Case Western Reserve University, the GE Global Research Center, and Microsoft announce that they are working on a $1.5 million collaborative research project to develop a cloud-based wireless sensing and prognostic system for monitoring machinery health.
Continue readingClassic Article: Continuous Carburizing by Gas
August 12, 2016 Source:
Despite the growth of alloy steels and special means of surface hardening, the ancient art of carburizing steel remains one of the fundamental operations in the manufacture of machine parts. It retains its popularity because it enables the workman to start with a material that can be easily machined, and end with an excessively hard and desirable surface for resisting wear, retaining ductile metal underneath with sufficient strength and shock-resisting properties to stand up to severe duty.
As is well known, most carburizing is done by the time-honored method of packing the steel with carbonaceous materials in suitable containers, covering it in such a way as to prevent infiltration of furnace gases, then raising the temperature to a suitably high point, and holding it there for some hours, depending upon the depth and character of case desired. Carburizing by this means is dependent on a number of factors, many of which arise from the character and uniformity of the compound; great care must therefore be vised in handling the compound to obtain satisfactory results. At best, there are still many variables that are hard to control and results that are difficult to explain. It has been felt for many years that this metallurgical process is too cumbersome and dirty to fit in well with modern manufacturing practice. To those who have studied the matter, it seemed that the desired improvement could be had in a process for carburizing with an externally prepared gaseous atmosphere. Such an atmosphere could be clean, of uniform composition, easily controlled, always fresh and theoretically desirable.
Despite the growth of alloy steels and special means of surface hardening, the ancient art of carburizing steel remains one of the fundamental operations in the manufacture of machine parts.
Continue readingBodycote sponsors Periodic Table of Fictional Metals
June 8, 2016 Source:
Bodycote, Macclesfield, England, has produced the Periodic Table of Fictional Metals, elements that have appeared in classical myths, books, films, comic books, and computer games for many years, as creative people invented metals with mythical or magical qualities.
Bodycote has a long history of working with real metals to increase their performance and meet customer requirements. Sometimes, though, in the myriad worlds of fiction, real metals just don't do what the author needs.
Popular culture has given us an extensive list of metals and alloys with fantastical qualities. In addition to Marvel Comics, whose ‘vibranium' and ‘adamantium' are probably some of the best known due to recent cinematic releases, fictional metals have appeared in popular science fiction movies such Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who; TV shows such as Game of Thrones and the X Files; literature such as The Lord of The Rings; and video games such as the popular Minecraft franchise.
For example, the Bodycote table reveals that Greek mythology introduced adamantine (Adt), a strong hard metal that made a "sickle or sword used by the hero Perseus to decapitate the Gorgon Medusa while she slept."
Rearden Metal (Rem) was invented by Hank Rearden, the protagonist in Atlas Shrugged. "This greenish-blue metal is lighter and stronger than steel. The first product made from the metal was a bracelet, then railway tracks for the Rio Norte Line."
Explore all these fascinating materials and many more in the interactive Periodic Table of Fictional Metals.
http://www.bodycote.com/fictional-metals
Bodycote, Macclesfield, England, has produced the Periodic Table of Fictional Metals, elements that have appeared in classical myths, books, films, comic books, and computer games for many years, as creative people invented metals with mythical or magical qualities.
Continue readingSSAB introduces five steel product families for specific applications
April 20, 2016 Source:
SSAB, Stockholm, introduces five steel product families tailored for production processes and maximized end-product performance: SSAB Domex, SSAB Boron, SSAB Form, SSAB Laser Plus, and SSAB Weathering. The new SSAB brand families include hot rolled plate, hot and cold rolled strip, metal coated, and tubes and sections.
SSAB Domex comprises a wide range of versatile structural steels with excellent cold-forming properties for high productivity and reliable performance.
SSAB Boron is a hardenable steel made for the easy and consistent production of wear-resistant products quenched in the customer's own workshop.
SSAB Form is the right choice for stamping, stretching, deep drawing, bending, metal spinning, and other forming procedures, particularly in high-volume production requiring exact and consistent properties.
SSAB Laser Plus (shown in photo) is a structural steel for efficient laser, water, and plasma cutting, improving yield and product quality thanks to guaranteed flatness after cutting, low internal stresses, and smooth surface.
SSAB Weathering and COR-TEN provide customers with an exceptionally wide choice, and flexible ordering of high-strength corrosion-resistant steel grades.
"Customers want to know what a product can offer, so it makes sense to group our products according to how they are used," says Olavi Huhtala, Head of SSAB Europe. "This will make it much easier to identify the right product for the right application. We have created these optimized offers by combining recently-developed products with a selection of the best products from our earlier ranges."
The new product ranges also provide SSAB´s customers with direct access to the company´s extensive services and support. Customers are welcome to contact SSAB for workshop recommendations and technical support on how to improve productivity.
The merger between SSAB and Ruukki has resulted in a restructuring of SSAB's steel portfolio. Last year, SSAB announced some new offerings, and this product launch, together with a forthcoming relaunch of the Docol brand for the automotive industry, will complete SSAB´s new product portfolio.
SSAB, Stockholm, introduces five steel product families tailored for production processes and maximized end-product performance: SSAB Domex, SSAB Boron, SSAB Form, SSAB Laser Plus, and SSAB Weathering.
Continue readingAlcoa chooses the name Arconic for its future value-add company
March 16, 2016 Source:
Alcoa, Pittsburgh, announces that the name for its future company dedicated to value-added products will be Arconic, in which "A" represents Alcoa, "arc" represents the arc of progress, and "-conic" speaks to the company's history of creating iconic products. The logo also includes a tagline, "Innovation, Engineered" to communicate the company's goal to invent, develop, and deliver products and solutions through precision engineering and advanced manufacturing.
The future upstream company will operate under the Alcoa name. The company's separation into two independent publicly-traded companies in the second half of 2016 remains on track.
"The ‘Arconic' brand fuses our extraordinary heritage with our highly promising future," said Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld. "It echoes our 127-year history of invention – and reinvention. Our logo depicts the realm of possibility brought to life. It reflects our vision of limitless innovation solving complex engineering challenges, to transform the way we fly, drive, build, package and power. And it represents the ingenuity of our people, who are dedicated to inventing, developing, and delivering high-quality, innovative products and solutions that contribute to our customers' success and create shareholder value."
Both Arconic and Alcoa will be based in the United States and listed on the New York Stock Exchange: Arconic as ARNC, and Alcoa as AA. The upstream company (Alcoa) will comprise the five business units that today make up Global Primary Products: Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminum, Cast Products, and Energy.
Arconic will include the three business segments that today comprise Alcoa's Value Add portfolio: Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transportation and Construction Solutions.
Alcoa, Pittsburgh, announces that the name for its future company dedicated to value-added products will be Arconic, in which “A” represents Alcoa, “arc” represents the arc of progress, and “-conic” speaks to the company’s history of creating iconic products.
Continue readingReliance acquires Tubular Steel for its specialty steel products
January 8, 2016 Source:
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, has acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Tubular Steel Inc. ("TSI"), St. Louis. TSI stocks over 60,000 tons and ships over two million custom-cut lengths of pipe, tubing, and bar products annually from its seven service centers across the United States. TSI will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., and current management will remain in place.
"Tubular Steel is a strong company with a respected position in the market and we are very excited for TSI to join the Reliance family of companies," commented Gregg Mollins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reliance. "The addition of Tubular Steel, with specialty, high margin products, fits our growth strategy of investing in higher returning businesses, while expanding our product breadth and end market diversification. Energy is an important end market for Tubular Steel. Although current activity levels are lower than normal in this area, we are confident in the long term strength of the energy market and Tubular Steel's ability to benefit during the recovery."
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, has acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Tubular Steel Inc., which stocks over 60,000 tons and ships over two million custom-cut lengths of pipe, tubing, and bar products annually.
Continue readingProceq Equotip 550 portable instrument for hardness testing diagnoses roll imperfections
September 15, 2015 Source:
Proceq, Switzerland, introduces the Equotip 550 Leeb U roll hardness tester, designed for testing small, midsize, and large paper rolls, as well as thin-film, foil, and coated rolls. It quickly and precisely diagnoses roll imperfections and hardness inconsistencies caused by uneven winding. The 8 GB flash memory allows more than 1,000,000 values to be stored on the instrument.
Portable and lightweight, the Equotip 550 Leeb U is perfect for roll hardness testing in the warehouse or on the production floor, providing an immediate visual assessment of the hardness profile. The full color display facilitates the best possible measurement and analysis of the measured data. It is compatible with existing Parotester impact devices. The measurement is identical, while the endurance of the cable has been significantly improved.
The new generation Equotip Touchscreen Unit offers an elaborate interface designed by industry experts for increased efficiency and an exceptional user experience. The enhanced software provides an interactive wizard, automatic verification processes, personalization options, and custom report functions. The specially designed housing optimizes the on-site usage of the device in harsh environments.
The Equotip 550 Leeb U is the direct successor of the highly appreciated Parotester. It enables the user to quickly and precisely diagnose roll imperfections, hardness inconsistencies and uneven winding, thereby preventing problems for printing and converting operations.
Proceq, Switzerland, introduces the Equotip 550 Leeb U roll hardness tester, designed for testing small, midsize, and large paper rolls, as well as thin-film, foil, and coated rolls.
Continue reading