Over the past century, aluminum industry technical innovations have dramatically transformed production methods and product markets. Here are ten alloy, product, and process advancements that have had major effects on this industry sector.
Direct chill casting allowed larger ingots than was possible using tilt-mold technology, leading to improved casting characteristics such as increased fatigue-endurance limits and ductility. Check This Out
Lightweight
Aluminum is one of the two most abundant metallic elements on Earth's crust, yet it rarely occurs naturally in its pure state. Instead, most often combined with other metals to form alloys with improved properties for various uses.
Consumer products made of aluminum alloys range from beverage cans, foil, automobile parts and electrical conductors. The strength of aluminum alloys increases with the incorporation of other metals like silicon, magnesium and zinc; higher series alloys may even be heat treatable for increased strength and weight reduction.
Scientists first suspected aluminum's existence as early as 1787. Yet, it wasn't until 1825 when Hans Christian Oersted and Friedrich Wohler independently discovered how to mass produce it using cryolite and bauxite as raw materials to reduce aluminum oxide into metallic aluminum, an energy-intensive process.
Corrosion resistant
Aluminum has proven itself corrosion-resistant across many environments. It comes naturally coated with an oxide barrier that can be strengthened through paint applications or anodization. Cleaning with mild liquids such as water makes for simple maintenance tasks making aluminum an excellent choice for electronic enclosures that must withstand liquid exposure.
Aluminum can be everywhere, from soda cans and planes to automobiles and phones, not forgetting iPhones. Aluminum is one of Earth's most abundant elements but requires special production from its raw form, bauxite, to commercially pure form by adding other metals known as alloys (copper, silicon, magnesium and zinc are most frequently alloyed); various desirable properties can be achieved that have many uses; aluminum comes in several strengths classified with four-digit numbers representing increased strength alloys.
Flexibility
People come into regular contact with aluminum in their daily lives - from soda cans and cooking foil to food packaging - but when doing so, they rarely come into contact with pure aluminum metal, which only occurs naturally in trace amounts; rather, they typically touch aluminum alloys which contain 90 to 99% aluminum metal content.
Pure aluminum is extremely rare to come across in nature due to its rapid reaction with oxygen atoms upon contact (hence your old soda can still be sturdy!). Instead, most aluminum seen today is combined with other elements in natural deposits called bauxite; hence this material is considered one of the world's most significant nonferrous metals.
Durability
Aluminum can be found all around us: in soda cans, aero planes, automobiles, and your iPhone 6. Aluminum makes up 8 per cent of Earth's crust! Plus, it can also be found inside smartphones like iPhone 6.
Aluminum's natural ability to transfer heat makes it an excellent material choice for electronic gadgets. This property helps keep components cool and prevents overheating. Plastic, in comparison, may warp or melt under pressure at high temperatures.
Many aluminum manufacturers are turning to the Internet of Things technologies to gain environmental and economic advantages. These smart systems monitor energy use and identify potential issues; they also help manufacturers reduce production waste while protecting machinery - all while maintaining high-quality standards at reduced energy costs and utility expenses while showing customers they care about sustainability and the environment.
Affordable
Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, making it ideal for manufacturing tubing, pipes, wirings, foils and roofing material. Furthermore, its alloyed forms can produce numerous products, including tubing, pipes, wiring foils, roofing sheets, fence gates siding, railings, railings, fence gates, frying pans, gutters, bicycle wheels and car parts.
Charles Martin Hall's innovation of modern methods for extracting aluminum from bauxite made the material more cost-effective; aluminum boasts the lowest costs among nonferrous metals.
aluminum's thermal conductivity makes it an excellent material to help shield electronics from high temperatures or electromagnetic interference, so laptops, cell phones, and tablets often feature aluminum enclosures that also keep dirt, dust and moisture at bay.
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