Tenova LOI Thermprocess received an order from Fonderie Pandolfo for the delivery and installation of a twin-chamber melting furnace (TCF). This order will double the Italian company’s production rate. The TCF, with a capacity of 65,000 tons/year, is designed for aluminum scrap recycling. In order to cover a broad range of scrap, it combines pre-treatment and melting in one furnace.

Arconic Inc. will invest approximately $100 million to expand its hot-mill capability and add downstream equipment capabilities to manufacture industrial and automotive aluminum products in its Tennessee Operations facility near Knoxville, Tenn. The project, which is expected to create 70 new jobs, is already under way and should be complete by the fourth quarter of 2020.

Aluminum manufactured products of various sizes have been steadily replacing steel in industrial designs such as automobiles, airplanes, appliances and many more applications due to the light weight and flexibility of aluminum.

As we shine the “light” on nonferrous this month, don’t miss what’s included in this issue. The Heat Treat Doctor® discusses the nonferrous topic of overaging.

Spain’s Hormesa is distributing Flextreme technology – an advanced manufacturing process – to the global aluminum industry. Developed and patented by Novelis, Flextreme is a horizontal continuous-casting process that produces bars with a superior surface that generally does not require scalping. Its solidification structure also obviates the need for heat treatment before forming.

This paper discusses the IVD process advantages when it comes to mitigating surface imperfections and providing corrosion and dissimilar metal protection, as well as the AM requirements for vacuum heat treatment processes.

Novelis Inc. announced an investment of $175 million at its Pindamonhangaba plant in Brazil. The project, which should create more than 50 new jobs, includes an increase in sheet-ingot, hot-mill and recycling production. The expansion of the company's flagship facility in South America will benefit the organization's beverage-can and specialty customers by bolstering capacity with 100,000 metric tons of additional rolling production and 60,000 metric tons of increased recycling.

Braidy Industries Inc. acquired NanoAl, a leader in the science of nanocrystalline strengthening technology applied to sheet aluminum, as a third wholly owned subsidiary. NanoAl was founded out of the Department of Materials Science at Northwestern University to commercialize the science of developing stronger aluminum alloys through control of key structural features at the nanoscale. Braidy believes the technology has the potential to significantly enhance the specific strength of aluminum to be produced by its Braidy Atlas mill in Ashland, Ky.

Constellium expanded its operations in Dahenfeld, Germany, to increase its supply of aluminum automotive structures. The company will manufacture a wide range of components for the body structure of a premium sports car from a new production hall. Enhanced capabilities at the plant include fully automated robotic assembly cells with integrated measurement for quality assurance. Constellium Dahenfeld will be able to deliver aluminum structural assemblies consisting of up to 20 individual components, including extrusions, castings and sheet materials.

This paper discusses the IVD process advantages when it comes to mitigating surface imperfections and providing corrosion and dissimilar metal protection, as well as the AM requirements for vacuum heat treatment processes.