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So far andre has created 252 blog entries.
13 11, 2012

Aluminum-built Tesla Model S Wins Car of The Year

2017-01-26T23:37:30+00:00November 13th, 2012|

Back in July, we told you about Tesla’s Model S – the electric-powered, aluminum-built car that the company considered to be its flagship model following its June release. It impressed critics then, but as we’re closing out the 2012 calendar year, it’s done more than just impress critics — it’s won awards. Big awards, too – like Automobile Magazine’s 2013 Automobile Of The Year. Yeah, that’s pretty significant.

“We can’t say for certain whether Tesla will be able to make that happen. The auto industry is tough enough for a giant like General Motors. What we can say with this award is that Tesla deserves to succeed. It has managed to blend the innovation of a Silicon Valley start-up, the execution of a world-class automaker, and, yes, the chutzpah of its visionary leader. The result is the Model S. It’s not vaporware. It’s our Automobile of the Year.”

Now, to be fair, Automobile Magazine doesn’t mention the word “aluminum” once in its Automobile Of The Year article. Instead, it talks about things like performance, handling, speed, and features. But perhaps that omission is one of the biggest compliments the aluminum materials can receive. After all, if a car’s aluminum chassis can merely be part of the manufacturing process rather than a design revolution, that means that it just might be ready for mainstream acceptance.

With many car manufacturers already looking at aluminum as part of their body manufacturing process, this is more validation that the industry’s on the right path – and with aluminum’s combination of strength and lightweight appeal, safety awards and better MPG aren’t far behind.

7 11, 2012

Aluminum for ALS at Kansas State University

2017-01-26T23:37:31+00:00November 7th, 2012|

Aluminum, college fraternities, and Lou Gehrig – those three things don’t normally go hand in hand, but Kansas State University student Harrison Helmick is looking to tie them together for a good cause.

A sophomore in bakery science, Helmick has started a movement called Aluminum For ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, colloquially known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) as part of his Phi Delta Kappa philanthropy project, and its foundation is built from aluminum cans.

How does the project work? It’s quite simple: Helmick has placed big blue barrels with the Aluminum For ALS logo outside of Kansas State University frat houses. Instead of aluminum cans getting thrown out, Helmick is urging students to put them in the blue barrels.

The aluminum is then collected and turned in for recycling money, and all proceeds are donated to the ALS Association. From the Kansas State Collegian:

“My fraternity was looking for a new philanthropy project, so when I was elected as the philanthropy chair, I wanted to plan something,” Helmick said. “I had always noticed how wasteful it was to throw away bags full of aluminum cans after parties, both in their collectability and in their environmental impact. My goal is to get as many of these barrels around campus as possible.”

Aluminum for ALS barrels are currently in place in 12 fraternity houses. Helmick’s goal is to place barrels in every fraternity house by the end of the semester and eventually in sorority houses, residence halls and potentially even at football tailgates.

“It’s a very simple thing; finish your drink, donate to charity,” Helmick said. “We take care of the cleanup and can provide as many barrels as necessary. Every person can easily get involved.”

As of November 1, more than 400 pounds of aluminum have been collected for the cause. Of course, you don’t have to be at Kansas State University to help – you should always recycle your aluminum (get cash and help the environment) and are welcome to make a donation at the ALS Foundation. Remember, every little bit helps.

30 10, 2012

Apple Prefers Aluminum – Or At Least Steve Jobs Did

2017-01-26T23:37:31+00:00October 30th, 2012|

Apple co-founder is a lot of things to a lot of people. Everyone can agree he was a visionary in technology, but he was apparently forward-thinking about other things — such as yacht materials.

Jobs’official biography noted that he spent a big part of his final years focused on designing a yacht to take his family around the world. And just about a year following Jobs’ passing, the yacht was completed in a Dutch shipyard. From arstechnica:

“According to biographer Walter Isaacson, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs spent the last several years of his life designing a custom yacht with an ultralight aluminum hull so his family could sail around the world together. Just over a year after Jobs’ death, the boat, dubbed “Venus,” was christened on Sunday in the Dutch shipyard where it was built.”

An “ultralight aluminum hull” is, to say the least, not very common among yachts. Yachting Magazine notes that a wide range of materials are usually considered for hulls depending on budget and material-property constraints (corrosion, weight, strength, etc.): wood, steel, fiberglass, plastics, and, yes, aluminum.  From Yachting Magazine:

“Aluminum, which is costlier than steel, is very light for its strength. Proper selection of marine alloys is essential; other grades will not stand up in a salt environment. For yacht-grade finishes, application of fairing compound is usually required, and the material is susceptible to corrosion if proper precautions are not taken.”

Yachting Magazine notes that designers often pick and choose a combination of materials to balance the different aforementioned factors. As for Steve Jobs’ yacht? While the design itself hasn’t been publicly discussed, there’s something very, well, Apple about that aluminum hull:

“A tribute to the minimalist design that Jobs championed at Apple (along with SVP of Industrial Design Jony Ive), the all-aluminum hull looks like it could have been carved from a single piece of aluminum, like many of Apple’s computers and mobile products. Other notable features of the finished vessel include smooth, all-teak decks, a rear hatch to launch a separate speed boat when a suitable dock isn’t available to go ashore, and a wheelhouse powered by seven 27″ iMacs.”

23 10, 2012

“Self-Healing” Aluminum Coatings Now A Reality

2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00October 23rd, 2012|

In the classic action film Terminator 2, the villainous T-1000 is made from liquid metal, an amorphous material that instantly seals up any wounds it suffers.

Dev Chidambaram’s research team at the University of Nevada, Reno hasn’t created a liquid-metal formula worthy of Hollywood special effects, but they have done something that’s almost as cool: a self-healing coating for aluminum. Designed for aerospace and defense applications, the molybdate-based formula is also much more environmentally friendly than the cancer-causing  chromate coating used in specific situations (but banned for consumer usage).

The research team’s formula uses the term “self-healing” based on the way the coating repairs itself after damages or scratches. From Phys.org:

“When scratched, the coating components from nearby sites migrate to the damaged region and re-protect the underlying alloy. A short video of the coating formation is on Chidambaram’s website, http://www.electrochemical.org under the heading “Cool Videos.”

Chidambaram’s formulation performs comparably to the chromate formula in its ability for self-healing, which is important to the defense and aerospace industry. The coating can be applied to all aluminum products. The new formula creates an environmentally-benign molybdate-based coating that provides corrosion protection to aluminum, used for aircraft and spacecraft. These coatings, when damaged, will re-heal themselves.”

While the team will continue to evolve the formula, the fact that it’s environmentally formula means that we could eventually see this in other industries using aluminum. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean liquid-metal assassins that travel through time. Not yet, anyway.

17 10, 2012

It’s Aluminum Week!

2017-01-26T23:37:31+00:00October 17th, 2012|

As this post goes live — yes, this very minute! – There’s a lot going on in Chicago, Illinois. Aluminum Week, the annual industry trade show put on by the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), the Aluminum Association (AA), and the Aluminum Anodizers Council (AAC), has taken over the city…
For the aluminum industry, it’s as big as it gets, as some of the biggest names in manufacturing, chemistry, research, and production get together under one roof. This year’s theme is “The Road Ahead” and it’s got multiple meanings. The first and most obvious one is the notion of exploring how the aluminum industry moves forward successfully. However, we’ve talked a lot on this blog about aluminum’s usage in the auto industry, and this will be explored in several session panels, including featured speeches by representatives from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Alliance Of Automotive Automobile Manufacturers as well as a luncheon discussion entitled “Double-up on Automotive Aluminum.”
Each year’s Aluminum Week provides valuable insights into industry trends, from manufacturing processes to usage innovations; this year’s version should prove to be just as enlightening. Don’t worry, though — we’ll make sure to take a few minutes to enjoy some of that famous Chicago pizza.

11 10, 2012

Improving The Auto Industry’s Aluminum Manufacturing Process

2017-01-26T23:37:31+00:00October 11th, 2012|

The auto industry’s been one of the biggest topics of this blog over the past few months, but we haven’t gone too much into the specifics — it’s just known that the auto industry has seen aluminum as part of its path to lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

GM, however, offered more details about how it’s enabling greater use of aluminum in its manufacturing process. In particular, it has to do with the way the material is welded, as traditionally aluminum is difficult to weld. From GM’s press release:

“GM’s new resistance spot welding process uses a patented multi-ring domed electrode that does what smooth electrodes are unreliable at doing – welding aluminum to aluminum. By using this process GM expects to eliminate nearly two pounds of rivets from aluminum body parts such as hoods, liftgates and doors.

…

Spot welding uses two opposing electrode pincers to compress and fuse pieces of metal together, using an electrical current to create intense heat to form a weld. The process is inexpensive, fast and reliable, but until now, not robust for use on aluminum in today’s manufacturing environment. GM’s new welding technique works on sheet, extruded and cast aluminum because GM’s proprietary multi-ring domed electrode head disrupts the oxide on aluminum’s surface to enable a stronger weld.”

This process has already been used on the hood of the Cadillac CTS-V and the liftgate of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon (hybrid editions). We’ll see more of this in 2013, thus promoting greater fuel efficiency and moving towards a better experience from manufacturers to motorists.

8 10, 2012

Uses Of Aluminum: Snowboard Bindings

2017-01-26T23:37:31+00:00October 8th, 2012|

We’ve talked about cars, bridges, industrial uses, but it’s easy to forget that aluminum is in everyday materials and sporting goods. Aluminum bats are common in non-MLB baseball, and aluminum hockey sticks were prominent in the 1990s; one area you may have overlooked is right at your feet – that is, if you’re snowboarding.
Many snowboard manufacturers make their bindings out of aluminum. For example, Ride Snowboards uses 100% aircraft-grade 6061 aluminum alloy. Their reasons? From an engineering perspective, they’re looking at traditional aluminum qualities. For the snowboarder that doesn’t want to think about things like a material’s Young’s Modulus value, it’s easier to say that it’ll make the board lighter with greater binding flexibility and durability. They’ve even put out a video on the topic.
In fact, Ride Snowboards are so high on their aluminum bindings that they offer a limited lifetime warranty (the “limited” aspect of it means it has to be under normal usage – so if you run over your bindings with a car, that doesn’t count). It just goes to show how trusted aluminum is during high-impact, high-velocity environments where every split-second truly counts.
29 09, 2012

Taber Extrusions LLC: Contract Advantages

2020-04-03T21:57:47+00:00September 29th, 2012|

Taber Extrusions LLC has a long history of working with defense contractors and their related sub-contractors. While we feel our experience, track record, and capabilities speak for themselves, it’s important to note two key designations that provide Taber’s clients with extra contract advantages.

First, Taber is designated as a Small Business in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the United States Small Business Administration. This designation is available for confirmation by searching the System for Award Management website (www.sam.gov); both of Taber’s locations (Russellville, AR and Gulfport, MS) are individually listed.

Taber’s track record of quality performance stands on its own. However, these additional designations offer some unique benefits — companies that use recognized suppliers can receive additional contract benefits from the government.

For more information on how this works, feel free to contact Taber — we’re happy to help!

25 09, 2012

Taber Extrusions Announces Precision Saw-Cutting Capabilities

2017-01-26T23:37:31+00:00September 25th, 2012|

Leading aluminum extrusions company seeks innovative new equipment to increase efficiency and keep costs down for customers

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–“American-made” Taber Extrusions, a leader in the U.S. manufacturing industry, has announced its precision saw-cutting capabilities for rod & bar/standard extruded shapes and customized aluminum extrusion profiles. Taber has added two new equipment enhancements to its Arkansas-based facility to maintain its leadership in the marketplace, saw cut with greater precision, and keep costs down for customers.

“Both new saws are custom-made for efficient aluminum cutting, ensuring high production rates while minimizing scrap.”

Anticipating the needs of their customer base that includes many various markets, both commercial and defense related, Taber’s manufacturing facilities added a band saw and a circular saw to fully cover the extensive range of produced extrusion profiles. With this new equipment, Taber’s cut tolerances now include length and squareness of cut (up to +/- .010″) across a maximum 32″ width (minimum cut length of .75″). Both new saws are custom-made for efficient aluminum cutting, ensuring high production rates while minimizing scrap.

“The upgrade to our sawing capabilities provides our customers with a product precise enough to be loaded directly into their machining centers,” remarked Steve Althardt, Sales Manager for Taber Extrusions. “The precision cut blanks saves our customers time and money compared to having to cut mill lengths in house.”

For over thirty-five years, Taber Extrusions has broken boundaries as an extrusion leader in the production of a range of quality, customized aluminum extrusions by using cutting-edge technology and offering competitive prices.

About Taber Extrusions LLC

In 1973, Taber Extrusions LLC pioneered the extrusion of large, heavy and wide complex shapes to differentiate itself in the aluminum extrusion industry. Today, Taber Extrusions continues its tradition of breaking boundaries as an extrusion leader in the production of a range of quality aluminum extrusions sizes and shapes. The company offers extrusions in 2000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 alloy series. Since its inception, the brand name Taber Extrusions has been synonymous with innovation, service and quality. All extrusions are engineered, manufactured and tested in the United States. Taber Extrusions maintains its headquarters at the Russellville, Arkansas facility, with a regional sales office also at its Gulfport, Mississippi facility.

20 09, 2012

Taber Extrusions Announces Precision Saw-Cutting Capabilities

2017-01-26T23:37:31+00:00September 20th, 2012|

As an industry leader, Taber Extrusions has always pushed to be at the cutting edge of technology. Now, two new equipment enhancements will allow Taber to saw cut with greater precision than ever before.

Taber’s manufacturing facilities added a band saw and a circular saw to fully cover the extensive range of produced extrusion profiles. With this new equipment, Taber’s cut tolerances now include squareness of cut (up to +/- .010″) across 32″ widths (minimum cut length of .75″). Both new saws are custom-made for efficient aluminum cutting, ensuring high production rates while minimizing scrap.

Of course, all of this comes with Taber’s trademark competitive prices. Have a specific need in mind? Contact Taber today to see how our cutting-edge technology can get the job done.

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