manufacturing – Shanghai Metal Corporation

Use of Solar mirrors to Melt Metal, an efficient metal processing Method

As manufacturing plants are being under pressure to reduce their energy spending, many countries and companies are trying to make progress in innovating. some researchers from Germany and South Africa have proposed a technique to reduce the emission in metal processing factories. and will use South Africa’s large aluminium processing industry as a test bed.

In addition to powering electricity-generating turbines , the large mirrors can also melt metals thanks to their ability to concentrate solar rays. The process helps reducing carbon footprint of the metal processing industry.

The preliminary concept is going to be tested first in Germany at the Aerospace Centre’s (DLR) by the Institute of Solar Research in Julich before launching it in South Africa.

According to these researchers, solar mirrors would focus sun rays reaching 700°C to a rotary solar kiln which will be able to melt aluminum ore but also recycled aluminum objects. In addition the research team will develop a logistics plan to transport the molten aluminium from the central solar melting plant to the production facilities where liquid metal will be processed.

“The aim of the project is to develop an energy and cost effective method that can be implemented across a variety of system sizes, depending on the requirements,” said Martina Neises-von Puttkamer, project manager at DLR.

South Africa is a particularly interesting place to start the project because the country’s metal processing facilities rely mostly on electric energy coming from coal-fired power plants which brought them to become the 15th largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. Also Metal processing is the country’s largest industry.

source: eandt.theiet.org

Shanghai Metal Corporation is specialized in manufacturing a wide variety of metal products and understand the importance of a green environment and efficient manufacturing. For more information, you can visit the company’s website or contact us for any inquiry.

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Houria // SMC Editor

Aluminum, Metal of choice for sustainable cans

the Aluminum Association and Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) new report states that aluminum cans are the most recycled beverage containers in the market, they have the highest recycling rate. A can usually contains 70% of recycled content, which is 3 times more than plastic or glass containers all this while being around 300 percent more valuable than other materials. A can is generally turned into a new can and back on store shelves within 60 days.
In addition aluminum cans have become lighter by 38 percent since 1972 in the United States, with a weight of 12.99 grams approximately. Aluminum cans are more than 15 times lighter than standard 12 oz. glass bottles, which makes it easier to transport bigger quantities of beverage and optimizing their transportation costs.

An Aluminum can goes through several steps during its life span from one recycling process to a new one

Stage 1 : Can Shredding

In this step cans are shredded into pieces the size of a walnut. The shreds are then passed through a double magnetic drum separator to remove any steel that may have been mixed into the bale.

Stage 2 : De-coating

Any paint or other chemical coating on the aluminum is removed by blowing hot air (around 550°C) through the shreds on a slowly moving insulated conveyor. The exhaust gases from this process are first passed through an afterburner and then used to heat incoming process air via a heat exchanger, minimizing the energy requirements of the system

Stage 3 : Melting

After the de-coated process, the aluminum shreds are put into a melting furnace containing submerged stirrers that create a vortex in the pool of molten aluminum and drag the shreds quickly down into the melt.

Stage 4 : Aluminum Casting

The molten metal is transferred into a furnace to remove impurities and start the casting process then Ingots are cast from the remaining pure metal.

Once in the mold, cool water is sprayed around and through the base of the mold. The aluminum ingot ten solidifies for the next three hours. The finished 18-ton ingots, each containing approximately 1.5 million used cans, are shipped to a mill for rolling into the sheet from which aluminum can makers subsequently produce new cans and the whole process begins again.

source: www.aluminum.org and homeguides.sfgate.com

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of aluminum products and is conscious about ecology and sustainable business . You can visit the company’s website or contact us for any inquiry.

Scan the QR code below and stay informed about our latest updates:

Houria // SMC Editor

From “Traditional Manufacturing” into “Smart Manufacturing”

It is expected that China will become the world’s largest manufacturer by 2025. Over the past decade, China’s manufacturing sector has made large contributions to the country’s and also the world’s economy.

China has become a big manufacturing country but has not yet been a powerful one. The main problems in Chinese manufacturing are:

Weak independent innovation ability
High dependence on foreign countries in core technologies
Low resource use efficiency

Premier Li Keqiang announced on March 25 China’s plan to focus on these three issues and to upgrade its manufacturing capacity for the next decades, leading China into a more competitive international manufacturer. This program, “Made in China 2025”, aims for a greener and more intelligent manufacturing with the use of the internet, improving innovation ability, integrate informatization, industrialization and bring the economy towards a higher sustainable growth.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Photo from ejinsight

Ten sectors have been identified as priorities:

New information technology
High-end numerically-controlled machine tools and robotics
Aerospace equipment
Ocean engineering equipment and ships with high technology
Advanced railway traffic equipment
Energy saving and new energy vehicles
Power equipment
New materials
Biological medicine and high-performance medical devices
Agricultural production machinery

Shanghai Metal Corporation serves the world’s businesses as an integrated global manufacturer, exporter, and supplier. We stand firm to our philosophy in bringing value across the globe and we always dedicate our effort to provide quality products and reliable services. Our commitment pushes us to continuously put efforts in innovation and improve our manufacturing capacity. Shanghai Metal Corporation, alongside with China, will continuously work hard in the future to become a better manufacturer and bring value across the world. We hope to change the world’s perception of Chinese goods from simply “made in China” to “innovated in China”.

Sources: English.gov.cn, ChinaDaily, BritishChamber.cn
Featured image: tiny.pr, smartmanufacturing

Ayu P.//SMC Editor

The Father of Stainless Steel

Many great inventions in life come from complete mistake or accident, the world of metal is no stranger to this effect. The most popular and widely used stainless steel is one of the best examples to this outcome. Although at first intended to perfect a gun, this metal went on to change the world for ever. Throughout time, metallurgists-individuals who study the physical and chemical aspect of metal were stuck on the problem of rusting. Ironically the discovery of stainless steel came in form of a gun.

The story goes, that in 1912 a metallurgist by the name of Harry Brearly from Sheffield was trying to improve the then used pistol to make it better. Most gun barrels are grooved – or “rifled” – in a spiral pattern that causes the bullet to spin, increasing accuracy. But the friction between the bullet and the barrel causes wear, eventually making the barrel too big for the bullet. Brearley wanted to develop a steel alloy that would resist erosion.

The story continues after several months of trial and error he began to collect a massive pile of steel scraps. One day Brearly noticed that one of his failed scrap was still shiny and maintained its structure while those around it had rusted. This at the time “failed” scrap contained about 12% chromium unknowingly had reacted with the oxygen in the air to form a thin protective cover. At the time Brearly dubbed his invention “rustless steel”.

Since Brearly hometown was known for manufacturing cutlery, he immediately saw an opportunity to test his new invention. He met up with an old schoolmate by the name of Ernest Stuart who at the time was a manager at Mosley’s Portland Works. After a serious of test, Stuart named it “stainless steel”-since then the name never changed. It is incredible to think today how we could live without the assistance of stainless steel. It’s everywhere we look, hell it’s holding the very chair I’m sitting on right now.

Here at Shanghai Metal Corporation we have taken this valuable and important invention and given it different applications. From sheets to pipes, and everything in between, we here at SMC will have the answer to your stainless steel needs. For more information on stainless steel material please visit our website. Be sure to join the conversation in our Linkedin group, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram account. You can also try our new mobile application by scanning the below QR code with your tablet or smart phone.

Mario B.//SMC Editor

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Sources: Wikipedia , Accident , SMC

Photo credit: flickr.com

Aluminum: Metal of the Future

Aluminum is seeing a marked increase in use in Automobile manufacture over the traditional metal; steel. This trend has been driven by two major factors. Firstly the market price for aluminum has fallen by over a third since its 2011 peak, making the metal and attractive option, despite it costing more than three times as much as steel. So what else is driving this trend? The intrinsic properties of aluminum make it suitable for vehicle manufacture; particularly its light weight. In a society that is increasingly concerned about fuel economy and pollution this is of particular importance, as lighter cars mean that less gasoline needs to be used to propel them.

So one can pose the question; how real is this trend? As mentioned in our previous article on the new Ford F-150 pickup truck, it is the first modern-mass produced vehicle to have its body completely composed of aluminum. However there are other examples, particularly in the luxury automobile segment that also have aluminum bodies, like the Audi A8 and Jaguar XJR.

This is just the beginning of the aluminum switch, as we can see the strong investment in technology and infrastructure. The biggest example of this being Alcoa Inc. and Novalis (the largest metal manufacturers in the United States) spending a combined $US 1 Billion on upgrading factories just to produce aluminum sheet metal for automobiles. This is not an intrinsically US phenomena, with Hindalco spending $US 550 Million upgrading aluminum sheet metal for automobile manufacture plants in Germany and China.

As a world leader in aluminum production and supply Shanghai Metal Corporation stocks this material in a range of forms and can customize specifications to suite your requirements. To contact us please visit our website Here. For more updates on this and other exciting developments follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. Or by using your smart device, scan the QR code below!

Dominick F.// Editor SMC

Sources: The Wall Street Journal; Anish Kelkar, Richard Roth, and Joel Clark; Wikipedia; Motor Trend; Forbes

Foods That Grow In Surprising Ways

You’ve never thought about it much until its brought up in conversation – does a plant grow in a tree or underground? Surprisingly, pineapples grow on bushes, artichokes are petals, cocoa beans on trees, and black pepper grows on vines. What about sugar? It’s not technically a fruit (as much as we want it to satisfy or five a day). However it does derive from the sugar cane plant. It takes a long process to get it into the crystallized form we all love. Here are the steps:

How To Get Sugar:

Grow the cane and harvest it
Extract the sugar syrup from the cane using rollers
Evaporate and clean the syrup in the factory
Separate the by-products. Three products are made; brown sugar, molassess and bagasse, two by-products used in alcohol and biofuel respectively.

And know you know! At Shanghai Metal Corporation we manufacture carbon steel sugar cane extractor blades. 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 Tumblr, 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.

You can also read more articles by our team at SMC:

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Foods That Grow In Surprising Ways

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How Much Petrol Costs Internationally

“Finland has produced so many brilliant distance runners because back home it costs $2.50 a gallon for gas.” Esa Tikkannen, 1979

“It’s better to have beer in hand than gas in tank.” Unknown

Some people would say petrol prices are one of the highest outgoings from their budget – but this isn’t the case universally. So what causes this?

The differences in gas prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline. All countries have access to the same petroleum prices in international markets, but then decide to impose different taxes. In some cases, like Venezuela, the government even subsidises gasoline and therefore people there pay close to nothing to drive their cars.

So, assuming you have a 60 liter car, the cost of one tank will vary considerably. A tank of petrol in Venezuela would buy you a candy bar ($0.60). A tank of petrol in Norway, the most expensive on the list, would get you a weekend holiday ($153). In China you could get an IPod ($81). In the UK you could get a family trip to the capital ($129). And finally in the USA, you could get dinner for two in a mid range restaurant ($58).

In fact production of gas is relatively the same universally. The crude oil, which is a mixture of hundreds of liquids of different boiling points is put into a huge column and heated from the bottom. The liquids with the lowest boiling points rise up the column and are collected from the upper regions. Other liquids are collected part way down and heavy oils are collected from the bottom. Tar is found to collect at the base of the column. Petrol is one of the low boiling liquids that are collected near the top. So in fact savings could be made from more efficient production processes, like updating their equipment.

Shanghai Metal manufactures steel petrol boilers. Our Boiler Plate Steel is in stock and readily available, and can be cut to size and shape according to specific design requirements. All work is governed by an independently accredited and regularly audited quality system and is ISO 9001 certified. 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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