Sheffield Forgemasters will lead a consortium of partners in a research-and-development project to explore the industrialization of electron-beam welding (EBW) in civil nuclear assemblies, with the potential to integrate welding into the manufacturing process. The Sheffield, U.K., company will install an electron-beam welder capable of welding 3-meter-diameter cylinders under localized vacuum and without traditional welding preparation, offering narrower welds than traditional methods plus the ability to weld as part of the manufacturing process, prior to quality heat treatment. It will then manufacture a civil nuclear component to demonstrate a full-sized (4.3 meters high x 3 meters diameter) small modular reactor pressure vessel and also produce several grades of steel alloys suitable for civil fission and fusion nuclear applications within the project's research element.

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ArcelorMittal completed the acquisition of Essar Steel India Ltd. (ESIL) and simultaneously established a joint venture with Nippon Steel Corp. called ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Ltd. (AM/NS India), which will own and operate ESIL. ArcelorMittal holds 60% of AM/NS India with Nippon Steel holding the balance. AM/NS India is an integrated flat-steel producer, including steel plates and steel pipes, with a current level of crude steel production of 7.5 million metric tons per year. It also has iron-ore pellet facilities in eastern India, with current annual capacity of 14 million metric tons.

Otto Fuchs ordered a melting furnace and two tiltable holding and casting furnaces from Hertwich Engineering, a company of SMS group. The melting furnace, the fifth at Otto Fuchs’ facility in Meinerzhagen, Germany, will have a capacity of 7.7 tons per hour. The two casting furnaces are designed for a capacity of 20 tons. The melting furnace, the largest at Otto Fuchs, combines scrap preheating and submersion melting of cleaned scrap in one compact unit. The entire furnace process is fully automated by a measurement and control system.

Brazing is a process of joining two or more metal parts by using a melted filler material commonly referred to as brazing alloy.

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM), developed by Fabrisonic, combines a unique room-temperature metal-deposition process with the ease of traditional CNC milling.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and AK Steel, a leading producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Cliffs will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of AK Steel common stock. The transaction will combine Cliffs, North America’s largest producer of iron ore pellets, with AK Steel to create a vertically integrated producer of value-added iron ore and steel products. The combined company will be ideally positioned to provide high-value iron ore and steel solutions to customers primarily across North America.

A rolling-mill expansion at Steel Dynamics’ facility in Columbia City, Ind., includes a new billet welder and an induction furnace. The billet welder and spooler line will produce spooled coils up to 5 tons. The 3-MW induction furnace will heat the stock coming from the existing mill. The expansion also includes a 70-meter conveyor connecting the existing medium section mill to the new spooler line, six housingless roller stands complete with quick stand-changing table, a six-pass Delta-type finishing block driven by a low-voltage 2.5-MW motor and finishing services.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA completed construction of a new brazing and assembly room. Though built primarily to accommodate a large aluminum brazing project for a specific customer, the room will be used for other brazing and assembly work. The temperature- and humidity-controlled room provides a clean environment for the critical assembly and alloying methods employed by Solar. All inventories of the clean components for final assemblies will be safely stored within the new space.

Lindberg/MPH shipped a gas-fired aluminum stack melting and holding furnace to a company in the secondary smelting industry. The furnace, which has a melt rate of 4,500 pounds per hour, will be utilized to produce aluminum ingot and sows. It is designed with access grating and a ladder for safe access to roof-mounted equipment during maintenance. A three-point laser metal-level sensor is provided that notifies operators of the current furnace metal level through an attached light tree.