japan – Shanghai Metal Corporation

Living in Aluminum Box?!

Nowadays, prices of apartments have been becoming more and more expensive. A big living space is now a dream of everyone. Japan is well-known for tiny flats, apartments, houses where one room can serve as a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom at the same time. There is a nice solution for Japanese people to have a decent affordable housing – aluminum houses.

The interior of these units measures 7 feet by 12 feet across. The height of a ceiling is almost 7,5 feet. As aluminum conducts heat easily, they added an insulation – urethane foam between aluminum sheets. The walls’ insulation keeps house quiet. Inside the house there are modern appliances and conveniences as a bed, a toilet, a shower, a sink, a kitchenette (with a fridge, a microwave and a stove) , a TV and an air-conditioning. Most of the interior fixtures are made out of aluminum.

Aluminum house on the wheels

What would you say about building your own tiny aluminum house? And on the wheels! Bills are cheaper, you have less to maintain around you, besides you really don’t have extra space for buying things you won’t use. One guy built it by himself and it looks amazing! But if some of you are claustrophobic it isn’t probably the right place for you to live in.

yuris aluminum tiny house project 0016 Aluminum Tiny House on Wheels with Sliding Loft & Glass Loft — Process of building

Shanghai Metal Corporation provides various kinds of aluminum, aluminum sheets and plates, brushed aluminum sheets, embossed aluminum sheets used for many applications. Find more information in our website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will guide you further. Download our application by scanning QR code below or follow us on Social Media.

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits: tinyhousetalk.com, kotaku.com, www3.nhk.or.jp, tinyhouseblog.co, googleimages

Unique steel facade

Are you annoyed when somebody is staring at you while you are at home? Yes, you may have the curtains, but there is still that feeling : “Oh what if people see me?”

Amano Design Office found a way for solving this a bit paranoiac problem. He wrapped the office block in Tokyo with steel ribbons. Their client, Dear Jingumae Building asked them to come up with some idea how to give the existing structure the new facade and keep it from the eyes of the neighbours.

Designers wanted to cover it in such a way that would be accepted by passersby while standing out of surrounded buildings.

This 25 years old structure served as the office before but now it will accommodate a shop on one of its floors. The curving stainless steel wraps around the floors creating curves.

Large windows can be glimpsed through gaps in the louvres and that way allow light to gently enter the building. A design team expected this building to vitalize neighborhood and add richness and variety to the street. An external staircase leads up from the facade to the first floor.

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers wide range of steel products. For more information you can visit the main website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will help you to find the most suitable product for you. Download our new application by scanning QR code or follow us on Social Media.

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : dezeen.com, steelmag.com, googleimages

New Japanese Maglev train !

Maglev is a method of transportation which uses the magnetic levitation to carry vehicles with mag-nets rather than with wheels. Maglev trains move more smoothly and more quietly than the others ways of transportation. The power which is needed for levitation is not a large percentage of the overall energy consumption, the power is actually needed for overcoming the air-resistance.

Japanese invented high speed rail in 1964 with their first Shinkansen bullet train and nowadays they are coming with next generation of fast trains with its first public test! This new Maglev train can hit 311 mph using “L-Zero” technology. Passengers can get from Tokyo to Nagoya within 40 minutes. Public tests rides will begin this November when 178 mile (286 kilometer) route officially opens and there will be six stations.

L0 On Guideway 2_0 — “L-Zero” technology

“L-Zero” technology means that train speeds of around 100 mph (160km/h) before the engaging the maglev system and then slowly accelerating to the top speed 311 mph (500 km/h). Japanese want to successfully demonstrate that Maglev trains work properly because Japan wants to export this technology. Japenese government recently offered a $5 billion down payment to build a maglev train from Washington to Baltimore which would take just 15 minutes. But the only maglev train is now operating in Shanghai, China. This Shanghai Maglev train operates with 268 mph (431 km/h) speed and travels 19 miles (30.5 km) from the airport to the city within 8 minutes.

shanghai maglev train — Shanghai Maglev train

In Shanghai Metal Corporation we serve our customers as fast as Japanese Maglev train, besides we offer high quality products. For more information you can visit our website or send us inquiry. You could also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LindkedIn or you could download our new application by scanning QR code below.

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : wikipedia,org, inhabitat.com, urbila.com

Copper doesn’t just make cents

The surge in copper prices has recently lead to thefts of this red metal all over the world. Gutter, cables, coils or pipes have been ripped off buildings and they are sold on the black markets. These thieves are only interested in financial gain but architects are using copper more and more, not for just practical purposes but also for its aesthetic allure. Let’s have a look!

Happo Museum – Tshwane, South Africa

Hapo Museum (hapo = hope or dream in the Khoi language) was designed by GAPP, Mashabane Rose Architects and MMA to showcase over 3 billions years of history in South Africa. The building complex is clad with copper panels which are meant to age naturally. “With walls and roof all clad in copper sheeting, the outcrop will rust to green and merge with the natural landscape.” state the architects.

Fujitsubo Beauty Parlor – Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo’s trendy Omotesando district has an incredible parlor Fujitsubo (“barnacle” in Japenese) Beauty Parlor. Japenese Archivision Hirotani Studio built it with a great example of copper cladding continuously from rooftop to the ground. It is bright and reflective and supposed to age incrementally to degrees dependent on amounts of sunlight and rain received at different areas of the structure.

fujitsubo01 — Fujitsubo Beauty Parlor, Japan

The Rock at Wellington International Airport – Wellington, New Zealand

This “Rock” was designed by Studio Pacific Architecture. They wanted to combine functionality and capacity that should become a memorable visitor experience at the airpoirt. The rock’s folded copper-clad walls are intended to invoke the character of Wellington’s South Coast area.

The-Rock-CD-Pictures-001-584x271 — Wellington’s Rock, New Zealand

There are even more copper buildings like Villa ArenA Woonmall Restaurant – Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Schloss Grafenegg Concert Hall – Grafenegg Castle, Austria, Svalbard Science Centre – Longyearbyen, Norway and others.

villa arena amsterdam — Villa Arena, Netherlands

austria — Schloss Grafenegg Concert Hall, Austria

norway — Svalbard Science Centre, Norway

You can find more about copper products on Shanghai Metal Corporation’s website or send us inquiry. Our English speaking personnel will gladly help you with any problems. We will be happy if you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LindkedIn. You could also download our new application by scanning QR code below.

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

You can find more articles written by this author here.

Credits : weburbanist.com, inhabitat.com, copperinvestingnews.com, archdaily.com, googleimages

Luxurious Teaware Design Inspired by Ferrari

One of the world’s most complex teaware techniques, Tsuiki craftsmanship (‘tsuikidoki’ in Japanese) has its roots among the famous rice fields of Niigata, in the town of Tsubame. Claimed to be the only ones in the world who know and use these techniques with such a perfection, teaware and sake-ware craftshop Gyokusendo reveals the key behind its copperware success.

Patience is all it requires during the twenty to thirty years learning process to become a tsuikidoki craftsman. Such a profession doesn’t cost only time but also big bucks. Trying to give a more modern look to the two hundred year-old technique of hand-hammering copper sheets, Gyokusendo saw the designer extraordinaire Ken Okuyama, a wristwatches lover, especially those from TAG Heuer, as a great partner.

The 51-year-old made a name for himself as the Pininfarina design director behind the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati Quattroporte, and Maserati Birdcage concept. Since leaving the Italian styling powerhouse in 2006, Okuyama has expanded his design focus to encompass everything from iron tea pots to eyewear, furniture to massage chairs, motorcycles to sports cars, buildings to robots and even the next-generation Shinkansen bullet train.

Now, his drawings had to become reality in the hands of the artisans at Gyokusendo who were met with the challenge of turning copper sheets into three dimensional teapot. Experienced smiths master this fine art and are able to strike the copper sheet just enough, which is crucial since it’s difficult to make the copper contract later on.

Gyokusendo’s copperware of a wide variety of colors and shades is unique. The surface oxidization adds a nice patina to the artwork when tin and potassium sulfide are fused onto the surface of the copper.

You may wonder why copper is so special in this art. Well, copper has antibacterial properties, and it purifies the water, meaning that the copper ions mellow the flavor of the tea and sake. So over the time it becomes even more lustrous, and the flavor becomes more full and rich: copper turns ordinary water into ‘good water’, to mellow tea, and mellow sake.

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of metals such as copper, widely used in architectural artifacts such as Gyokusendo’s teaware and sake-ware. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Our English speaking professionals will be more than pleased to help you. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source: gyokusendo.com, designboom.com, motortrend.com

Camilla G.//SMC Editor

Get Bent: Apple

All the buzz around Apple’s newest iPhone6 may not be that of a success. Not even its 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models sold in three days after the phones went on sale. Rather, it seems like the new ‘bendable’ iPhone6 is even a hotter hit, going viral on social media as hashtag #BendGate.

Not only a rumor but proved by a number of pictures published on the world web, the new iPhone6 and iPhone6 Plus easily bend when carried in owners’ pockets for long periods of time. Others claimed the flexibility of the new phone while having more active lifestyle and dancing.

The question whether this affects all the devices or if it is limited to a small number of phones is still unclear, and Apple has not yet pronounced. Last year there were similar cases involving iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S4, the HTC EVO, and many others, but this is actually the first time the bending issue has become an “epidemic”.

Ironically, the reports claiming the issue came out the same day that smartphone warranty provider SquareTrade called the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus the “most durable smartphones ever”. Significantly larger and thinner than the traditional iPhone, the iPhone6 and iPhone6 Plus are encased by aluminum enclosure, which is a naturally flexible material.

CNNMoney received a test model and several staffers tried and failed to change its shape using brute force. What this will mean for the future of iPhones? Well, earlier this year the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently published Apple’s patent application which describes a new technology to be integrated with bendable displays. It talks about a new method on how to use tiny metal components in a way that prevents them from breaking when the display is bent. It might be it?

For now, what remains for iPhone6 owners is to remove their iPhones from their pockets before sitting, placing them in a less tight pocket, or choose for a more resistant case that could protect the device from bending and flexing. And if you still think of acquiring an iPhone6 or iPhone6 Plus, it is available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and the UK and it will go on sale in 20 more countries on September 26^th and others by the end of the year.

Shanghai Metal Corporation is a world leader in producing and supplying the best quality in aluminum that could prevent devices such as the iPhone6 and iPhone6 to easily bend. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Our English speaking personnel will be more than pleased to help you. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Story credit: Dominick F.//SMC Sales Specialist

Source and photo credit: foxnews.com, money.cnn.com, macrumors.com, newser.com, gadgetlove.com

Camilla G.//SMC Editor

The New Age Cure For Insomnia

“This is how it is with insomnia. Everything is so far away, a copy of a copy of a copy. The insomnia distance of everything, you can’t touch anything and nothing can touch you”

― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Insomnia can be very detrimental to your health – it can cause stress, apathy, impaired memory, weight gain and a decrease in your immune system power. A study by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) showed that as high as 70% of us suffer from sleep deprivation, and most of these go undiagnosed and untreated.

Among other conventional methods such as changes to your diet or exercise, one way to get control of your sleeping habits is a sleep monitor. These can vary in their features, but the best of which automatically detects running, biking or walking as well as sleep. For example, Basis’ Body IQ™ 2014 Carbon Steel Edition features all of this in addition to personalized sleep reports for each phase of the sleep cycle.

The Daily Mail reports that sleep monitors can actually disrupt your sleep because it gives the user an extra thing to worry about. Alternatively the BBC reports that carefully monitored sleep and exercise patterns can give athletes a competitive edge.

The sleep monitor industry is worth up to $3bn (£1.8bn) also according to the BBC. So, if you would like to see improved mood, weight, and lifestyle why not consider this new age option? I bet Chuck/ Tyler wished he had.

Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures value added carbon steel products like this sleep monitors. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: BBC, Daily Mail, Fight Club, APA, Basis, Good Reads Quotes

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Bullet Trains – What They Won’t Tell You

It’s assumed that investment infrastructure can only be a good thing – but what about the drawbacks? It can put governments in debt to finance the project, and take business away from the existing transport network. So are high speed trains really worth it?

Hailed by the UK government, it said bullet trains could boost the UK economy by £15bn a year. But research by KPMG suggested the UK’s High Speed 2 bullet train project would make more than 50 places across the UK worse off – such as Aberdeen, Bristol and Cardiff.

In Chengdu, China, the fast transport infrastructure growth has come with social costs. Farmers lost land, displaced residents protested and local governments have ignored land-use laws.

However high speed rail travel has its perks. Though the cost estimate for California’s bullet train project has more than doubled to nearly $100 billion, high-speed rail officials said Tuesday a new business plan will create an economically successful system, generate more than a million jobs and provide a transportation alternative for the state’s growing population.

India, China and Japan are bidding to build their first bullet trains to kickstart India’s transportation infrastructure, which would bring massive revenues for all the countries involved in terms of finance and job creation. And the bullet trains in China break world records in length and speed, and have revolutionized the previously coach driven travel opportunities.

Ultimately bullet trains benefit the country, but these unanticipated costs should be a concern for any country considering them.

Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures the copper used in the manufacturing of high speed trains. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website, WordPress, LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code. Moreover, we sell directly from Alibaba , EC21 and Tradekey.

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4 Strange Stockpiling Panics

Stockpiling panics can be triggered by the smallest of market shocks. Maybe a news report causes it, an unexpected price change, or word of mouth, but once the panic sets in chaos ensues. Each country has seen its own stockpiling panic, like raw materials, power, food and water. But the following countries have been a little more creative with their stockpiling choices.

Japan – Toilet paper

Japan’s bureaucrats don’t want the nation to be caught with its pants down the next time toilet paper supplies run short after a natural disaster.

That’s why the government is rolling out its latest public-awareness campaign, entitled “Let’s Stockpile Toilet Paper,” which involves an exhibition on the topic at the trade ministry, a summit of industry leaders and the sale of specially packaged “emergency use” toilet tissue.

USA – Sick Days

Due to loopholes in the employee benefit package, government employees of the USA are eligible for 2,164 sick days that they are eligible to draw from according to figures requested from the auditor’s office.

China – Cabbage

In Beijing especially, there are the piles of cabbage that accrue in communal courtyards, high-rise hallways and window ledges across the city. This has been common practice since the 1960’s industrialization to get people through harsh winters that may hinder food production.

Singapore – Sand

Some countries have strategic oil reserves; others stockpile rice or wheat. The island nation of Singapore has emergency reserves of imported sand. The government is now being forced to tap its sand hoard after its usual supplier, Indonesia, abruptly banned exports in February in a string of disputes between the two countries.

Currently, Raw material surcharges are spurring stockpiling of stainless steel and nickel across the globe. Finland’s Outokumpu OYJ (OUT1V), Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG and Aperam SA (APAM) in Luxembourg all reporting boosts in deliveries.

So, why not beat the stockpiling surge and invest in nickel and stainless steel today? Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures an array of value-added Metal Products, Building Systems, Shipping Containers, and Machinery. We are committed to delivering quality to businesses as an integrated global manufacturer, exporter, and supplier with offices and subsidiaries located throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. To find out more, please visit our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

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Top 3 Ammunition Alternatives

Top 10 Countries For Internet Speed

Drunk Man Found In Container Bound For The USA

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Move Along Airplanes – Submarines Overtake Travel

Thor’s Hammer: The Science

Shipping Container City – Shanghai Immigrant’s Homes

Can You Do A 360 Degree Loop On A Swing Set?

Become Bullet Proof …Using Water

Counterfeit Money Cases

LEGO Lands On British Shores

Innovative Uses of Soap

Air Quality – What Can Be Done?

Team Building Exercises – A New Spin

How Much Petrol Costs Internationally

The Antarctican Training Programme – Could You Make It?

What Is The Mirror Paradox?

Do Oil Discoveries Cause Conflict?

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Where Did ‘Loom Bands’ Come From?

Are You Apocalypse Ready?

Could You Abseil Down Big Ben?

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How Do Telephones Actually Work?

LEGO Lands On British Shores

Have you ever stepped on a LEGO piece? How about 4.8 million of them?

In 1997 a shipping container filled with 4.8 million Lego pieces fell from a cargo ship off the coast of Cornwall in southern England. The BBC reports that pieces are still floating to shore 17 years later. The Tokio Express captain described the wave that hit the ship as a “once in a 100-year phenomenon.” The ship tilted 60 degrees one way, then 40 degrees back, sending more than 60 containers into the water.

Tracey Williams has started a Facebook page to track the Lego pieces that continue to wash ashore to this day. Take a look at some of what has washed up:

It is one of 353,264 plastic daisies dropped into the sea.

Chris Koch, the president of the World Shipping Council, says there is an “array” of legislation in force regarding the construction of containers – each one costing £2,927 ($5,000, 3,671 euros) – and how they are stacked aboard container ships.

“The predominant cause of loss is very, very bad weather, when the forces of nature overcome the forces of lashing the containers to the ship. The industry does what it can, but it can’t control Mother Nature.”

Shanghai Metal manufactures shipping containers. We are the leading manufacturer and supplier in China. From the acquisition of raw materials, packaging and exportation, SMC ensures only the best quality of products. By assigning professional experts at every stage of production, we ensure continuous support with our worldwide business. To find out more, please visit our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

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What Is The Mirror Paradox?

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Should We All Switch To Cycling?

Where Did ‘Loom Bands’ Come From?

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Could You Abseil Down Big Ben?