Alcoa secures contract to export bauxite from its Western Australia mine
January 4, 2017
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Alcoa Corp., Pittsburgh, announces that Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals has secured its first major third-party contract to supply approximately 400,000 bone dry metric tons (bdmt) of bauxite from its Huntly mine in Western Australia, furthering Alcoa's strategy to grow its third-party bauxite business.
The Western Australia state government has also granted approval for Alcoa to export up to 2.5 million metric tons per annum of bauxite for five years to third-party customers.
"Bauxite exports have the potential to generate greater value from our mineral lease, creating additional revenue streams for Alcoa and the state of Western Australia (WA), while maintaining supply to our three refineries," Mr. Dixon said.
The WA contract is one of three bauxite agreements recently signed worth a total of $126 million to deliver approximately 2.2 million bdmt of bauxite to customers in China in 2017. In addition to the WA contract, Alcoa will supply bauxite from its two mines in Brazil—Juruti and Mineração Rio do Norte — where Alcoa and AWAC hold an 18.2% equity investment. The two supply agreements for Brazil bauxite replace 2016 contract volume.
The contracts increase the total value of Alcoa's 2016 and 2017 third-party bauxite supply agreements to nearly $600 million.
Alcoa, the world's largest bauxite miner with 45.3 million bdmt of production in 2015, has mines in proximity to major markets and holds a first quartile cost curve position. Alcoa projects that the market for third-party bauxite demand will double between 2015 and 2024, with China as the biggest importer of bauxite.
www.alcoa.com
Alcoa Corp., Pittsburgh, announces that Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals has secured its first major third-party contract to supply approximately 400,000 bone dry metric tons (bdmt) of bauxite from its Huntly mine in Western Australia, furthering Alcoa’s strategy to grow its third-party bauxite business.
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Buehler Diamet hardness testing software features automatic symmetry calculation
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Buehler, Lake Bluff, Ill., offers Diamet hardness testing software, which includes an automatic symmetry calculation for both Knoop and Vickers as a standard feature. The software is optimized for Macro-Vickers, Micro-Vickers, Knoop, and Brinell indents according to ISO 6507, ISO 4545, ASTM E384, ISO 6506, and ASTM E10 standards. This extra validation, with clear visual indication, helps to ensure that the results conform to standards.
The macro view function enables creating a composite image of the specimen. The shape and size of the specimen is irrelevant, since the DiaMet software can scan any area within stage limits. Blend in the navigation mini map to navigate quickly and efficiently from test location to test location.
Navigation within the DiaMet software is made easy by its clean design, and is supported by simple and intuitive actions. Virtual tabs on top of the screen let you navigate between to Home, Program Testing, and Reporting. Comprehensive feedback is shown on the status bar, which makes interactions clear and efficient. Designed for touch panels, with an entirely new look and feel, DiaMet enables fast and simple operation to satisfy the needs of operators with little training, while maintaining the flexibility and high level of features required by experts.
www.buehler.com
Buehler, Lake Bluff, Ill., offers Diamet hardness testing software, which includes an automatic symmetry calculation for both Knoop and Vickers as a standard feature.
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Precision-controlled pit furnace tempers hardened steel dies
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Seco Warwick, Meadville, Pa., announces that Dorssers Inc. has purchased two of its pit style air temper furnaces to process pellet dies. The pellet dies are large-diameter, hardened steel dies with a multitude of holes gun-drilled for compressing various feed stocks in the agriculture, waste, and pulp industries. The environment is harsh, so exact heat treating is a must.
ʺWe have worked with Seco Warwick for years, and we know they understand our need for rugged furnaces, along with our need for uniformity and precision controls for our expensive dies," says Dorssers president Peter Timmermans. ʺWe have owned and operated Seco Warwick vacuum furnace equipment for many years, and find the control systems to be one of the best on the market."
Seco Warwick pit furnaces feature a rugged, heavy-duty industrial design for uniform convective heating. The furnaces, sold in two sizes, are offered as electrically heated or gas-fired, with PLC control system and friendly HMI.
www.secowarwick.com
www.dorssers.com
Seco Warwick, Meadville, Pa., announces that Dorssers Inc. has purchased two of its pit style air temper furnaces to process pellet dies.
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One Minute Mentor: Plasma Nitriding
January 3, 2017
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Plasma nitriding is a surface-hardening process in which glow-discharge technology introduces nascent (atomic) nitrogen into the surface of a metal part for subsequent inward diffusion. The process takes place in a vacuum chamber, with the workpiece as the cathode (negative potential) in a nitrogen/hydrogen atmosphere at pressures between 100 and 1000 Pa (0.015 and 0.15 psi).
A voltage in the range of 500 to 1000 volts is applied between the metal part and the chamber wall, resulting in the formation of a plasma through which positive nitrogen ions are accelerated against the negative-biased part to be treated. This ionic bombardment heats the piece to the treatment temperature, cleans the surface by sputtering, and provides active nitrogen species for the nitriding process.
The diagram shows the schematic of a device used for glow-discharge plasma nitriding. 1 and 2, gas introduction; 3, thermocouple; 4, cathode; 5, pressure sensor, 6 to 8, needle valve; 9, diaphragm valve; 10, solenoid; 11, vacuum pump; 12, sample holder; 13, sample; 14, anode; 15, sealing ring; 16, stainless tube; 17, window and 18, insulator.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Nitriding of Stainless Steels ⇒ Thermochemical Nitriding Treatments
Plasma nitriding is a surface-hardening process in which glow-discharge technology introduces nascent (atomic) nitrogen into the surface of a metal part for subsequent inward diffusion
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Electron beam additive manufacturing system to build titanium aircraft parts for Airbus
December 31, 2016
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Sciaky Inc., Chicago, announces that Airbus has taken delivery of a state-of-the-art electron beam additive manufacturing EBAM 110 system to build large structural parts of titanium.
Sciaky's EBAM process combines computer-aided design, additive manufacturing processing principles, and an electron beam heat source. Starting with a 3D model from a CAD program, Sciaky's fully articulated, moving electron beam gun deposits metal via wire feedstock, layer by layer, until the part reaches near-net shape. From there, the near-net shape part requires heat treatment and post-production machining.
Sciaky brings quality and control together in one step with IRISS – the Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System. IRISS is the only real-time monitoring and control system in the metal 3D printing market that can sense and digitally self-adjust metal deposition with precision and repeatability. This closed-loop control is the primary reason that Sciaky's EBAM 3D printing process delivers consistent part geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and metal chemistry, from the first part to the last.
EBAM utilizes wire feedstock of a wide variety of metals and refractory alloys, such as titanium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, Inconel, and stainless steels. Sciaky's EBAM 110 system has a work envelope of almost six feet by four feet.
www.sciaky.com
Sciaky Inc., Chicago, announces that Airbus has taken delivery of a state-of-the-art electron beam additive manufacturing EBAM 110 System to build large structural parts of titanium.
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Linde and Praxair announce intention to merge
December 23, 2016
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Linde AG, Germany, and Praxair Inc., Danbury, Conn., announce that the companies intend to combine in a merger of equals that would bring together two leading companies in the global industrial gas industry, leveraging the proven strengths of each. The transaction would unite Linde's long-held leadership in technology with Praxair's efficient operating model, creating a global leader. The combined company would have strong positions in all key geographies and end markets and create a more diverse and balanced global portfolio. Additionally, it would enable the development and delivery of more innovative products and services to customers.
The companies have signed a non-binding term sheet and expect to execute a definitive Business Combination Agreement as soon as practicable. Based on 2015 reported results, the combination would create a company with pro forma revenues of approximately $30 billion, prior to any divestitures, and a current market value in excess of $65 billion.
Under the proposed merger, existing Linde and Praxair shareholders would each own about 50% of the combined company, and its chief executive would be based in the United States.
Chairman and CEO of Praxair, Steve Angel, will become CEO, while Linde's supervisory board Chairman, Wolfgang Reitzle, will take the role of chairman of the new group.
"Under the Linde brand, we want to combine our companies' business and technology capabilities and form a global industrial gas leader. Beyond the strategic fit, the compelling, value-creating combination would achieve a robust balance sheet and cash flow and generate financial flexibility to invest in our future"
"The strategic combination between Linde and Praxair would leverage the complementary strengths of each across a larger global footprint and create a more resilient portfolio with increased exposure to long-term macro growth trends," said Steve Angel, Praxair's Chairman and CEO. "We consider this to be a true strategic merger, as it brings together the capabilities, talented people and best-in-class processes of both companies, creating a unique and compelling opportunity for all of our stakeholders."
"Under the Linde brand, we want to combine our companies' business and technology capabilities and form a global industrial gas leader. Beyond the strategic fit, the compelling, value-creating combination would achieve a robust balance sheet and cash flow and generate financial flexibility to invest in our future," says Professor Dr. Aldo Belloni, CEO of Linde.
www.praxair.com.
www.linde.com
Linde AG, Germany, and Praxair Inc., Danbury, Conn., announce that the companies intend to combine in a merger of equals that would bring together two leading companies in the global industrial gas industry, leveraging the proven strengths of each.
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CVD Equipment acquires chemical vapor deposition technology from Tantaline
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CVD Equipment Corp., Central Islip, N.Y., has purchased certain tantalum chemical vapor deposition technology formerly owned by Tantaline A/S, Nordborg, Denmark, and now owned by a CVD subsidiary operating under the name Tantaline CVD A/S. The innovative tantalum chemical vapor technology, called Tantaline treatment, is used to create a tantalum surface alloy on parts such as valves, fittings, autoclaves, process chambers, flow reactors, fasteners, mixers, flowmeters, and medical devices, as well as other parts that are susceptible to corrosion in harsh environments.
These parts are used across a broad range of industries including chemical processing, oil & gas, mining, pharmaceutical, and medical. In hot corrosive acidic environments (>150°C) such as sulfuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids, Tantaline treated parts outperform most high priced specialty alloys and function nearly at the level of solid tantalum parts. Tantaline treatment thereby provides solid tantalum-like superior corrosion resistance at a lower part cost.
With this strategic acquisition, CVD Equipment gains access to new markets and applications," says Leonard Rosenbaum, President and CEO. " Additionally, sales and manufacturing operations in Denmark expand our geographic footprint. Plans are also under consideration for additional coating facilities in the United States and elsewhere. This is part of our strategic plan to leverage our equipment know-how and proven ability to scale up deposition processes into offering high value-added materials, products, and services. This is the first step in our combined organic and acquisition growth initiative for 2017."
CVD Equipment Corp. designs, develops, and manufactures a broad range of chemical vapor deposition, gas control, and other state-of-the-art equipment and process solutions to develop and manufacture materials and coatings for research and industrial applications.
www.tantaline.com
www.cvdequipment.com
CVD Equipment Corp., Central Islip, N.Y., has purchased certain tantalum chemical vapor deposition technology formerly owned by Tantaline A/S, Nordborg, Denmark, and now owned by a CVD subsidiary operating under the name Tantaline CVD A/S.
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$1.5 million project to research monitoring digital production machines from the cloud
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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.
http://dmdii.uilabs.org/
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.
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Multi-element nickel alloys resist radiation damage 100 times better than pure nickel
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The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, reports its researchers have discovered that nickel-cobalt-iron and nickel-cobalt-iron-chromium-manganese alloys in equal concentrations can be 100 times more resistant to radiation-induced swelling than pure nickel, meaning that radiation-induced cavities in these alloys are 100 times smaller than in pure nickel.
Colleagues at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee created samples of a variety of nickel-based alloys. These were then exposed to radiation in a facility at the University of Tennessee. The most successful alloys were concentrated solid solutions—crystals made of equal parts nickel, cobalt and iron; or nickel, cobalt, iron, chromium and manganese.
"These materials have many good properties such as strength and ductility, and now we can add radiation tolerance," said Chenyang Lu, a U-M postdoctoral research fellow in nuclear engineering and radiological sciences and the leading author of the report in Nature Communications.
In an experiment proposed by Dr. Wang, UT researchers exposed the samples to beams of radiation that created two levels of damage, similar to what may accumulate in a reactor core over several years and over several decades. These experiments were done at a temperature of 932°F, a temperature at which nickel-based alloys are usually susceptible to swelling.
These samples were analyzed at U-M's Center for Material Characterization with a transmission electron microscope. The team found that compared to pure nickel, the best alloys had more than 100 times less radiation damage.
The study, titled "Enhancing radiation tolerance by controlling defect mobility and migration pathways in multicomponent single phase alloys," appears in Nature Communications.
The work was supported as part of the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences.
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-safer-long-life-nuclear-reactorsmetal-resistance.html
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, reports its researchers have discovered that nickel-cobalt-iron and nickel-cobalt-iron-chromium-manganese alloys in equal concentrations can be 100 times more resistant to radiation-induced swelling than pure nickel, meaning that radiation-induced cavities in these alloys are 100 times smaller than in pure nickel.
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Big River Steel Flex Mill to produce hot rolled steel one inch thick, 78 inches wide
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Big River Steel, Osceola, Ark., announces that it has begun operations in the first steel mill in North America to connect an electric arc furnace to a Ruhrstahl Heraeus degasser, and will be the only EAF mill in the United States to produce hot rolled steel as thick as one inch and as wide as 78 inches. Based on the technology and the design of the facility, the mill will reportedly produce a range of material dimensions and strength levels never before produced in an EAF mill.
The company says this is the world's first Flex Mill melt shop and hot mill. These are the third and fourth areas of the mill to be commissioned following the batch anneal facility and temper mill. The first hot-rolled coil was purchased by Zekelman Industries and will be sent to Atlas Tube, one of the company's structural tube mills in Blytheville, Arkansas. Zekelman Industries purchased the coil for $100,000 with the entire amount jointly contributed by Big River and Zekelman Industries to Wounded Warrior Project and Arkansas Northeastern College.
Under construction since July 2014, Big River is commissioning some of the world's newest steelmaking technology and will recycle approximately two million tons of scrap metal and other metallics to produce 1.6 million tons of finished steel products annually.
www.bigriversteel.com
Big River Steel, Osceola, Ark., announces that it has begun operations in the first steel mill in North America to connect an electric arc furnace to a Ruhrstahl Heraeus degasser, and will be the only EAF mill in the United States to produce hot rolled steel as thick as one inch and as wide as 78 inches.
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