INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Aluminium plant opens in Kizad

Ducab Aluminium Company (DAC) has opened a Dh220m aluminium plant in Kizad with plans to export 75% of its output to overseas markets.

A joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based Senaat (40%) and DAC (60%), the manufacturing facility was inaugurated by Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court at Khalifa Industrial Zone of Abu Dhabi (Kizad). The company will manufacture 50,000 tonnes of aluminium rods and conductors per annum once it reaches its full capacity. Emirates Global Aluminium will supply molten aluminium to manufacture products at the facility.
For further information www.senaat.co

NISCO invests in billet-casting machine

The National Iranian Steel Company (NISCO), which belongs to the state-owned Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organisation (IMIDRO), has ordered a six-strand billet casting machine from SMS Concast AG, a company of SMS Group. The plant will be part of a newly built EAF-based meltshop and designed for an annual capacity of more than 800,000 tons of billets.

The new steel complex built in Miyaneh is expected to serve as a basis for the industrial development of the province. NISCO’s new six-strand Concast Convex CCS casting machine will produce billets of low-, medium- and high-carbon steels, among others, for rebar production. Capability includes a casting radius of 9 m and the production of billets of 130, 150 and 200 mm square in lengths ranging between 6 and 12 m. Depending on the steel grades and casting mode (open or submerged), casting speed will vary between 4.5 and 1.5 m/min.
For further information www.sms-group.com

Broadbent Stanley offers VTLs once more

Having produced its first lathe back in 1870, Broadbent Stanley has a long history of designing and manufacturing large-capacity machine tools. At one point the company offered a series of vertical turning lathes (VTLs) and now history is repeating itself with the announcement of a strategic agency agreement with Radar Industrial, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of CNC VTLs.

The agreement will see Broadbent Stanley actively market and sell the Radar range in many markets, including the UK, Ireland, Africa and the Middle East.
Radar VTLs are available in three model designations, the RAL-12, RAL-16 and RAL-20, with maximum turning diameters ranging from 1500 to 2400 mm (and turning heights up to 1600 mm), with a maximum workpiece weight of 13,000 kg on the largest machine. All three machines come as standard with the Fanuc 0i-TF CNC.
The Radar models are equipped with a 12-position tool changer, which can be increased to 18 on the optional M-specification machines, with nine of those positions being capable of handling driven tooling, powered by a 15 kW motor with up to 2400 rpm available for the live tooling. For the largest of the three machines, the main rotating table is powered by a 45 kW motor, with two speed ranges of 1-50 and 1-200 rpm controlled via a high-torque (up to 23,750 Nm) gearbox.
As would be expected of machines of this size and capability, construction is key. The main table features a novel hydraulic static bearing design, where a floating hydraulic bearing is combined with a heavy-duty roller bearing that sits in a one-piece base casting. The result of this design leads to what is claimed to be the ideal combination of increased table-load capacity and precision.
For further information www.broadbentstanley.co.uk

Euro projects

Lina Huertas, head of technology strategy for digital manufacturing at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, has been chosen to be on a jury of experts for the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot.

Huertas is one of 87 experts drawn from 26 countries who will assess companies pitching innovation projects to the EIC SME Instrument, which supports innovators, entrepreneurs, small companies and scientists with funding opportunities and acceleration services. The EIC SME Instrument will fund around 4000 small companies that pass the rigorous process, through to 2020.
For further information www.the-mtc.org

Plating service for 3D-printed parts

Proto Labs has extended its in-house 3D-printing capabilities with the inclusion of specialist plating services for plastic parts built using stereolithography or SLS.

Components are plated with materials that include copper, nickel and chromium. Daniel Cohn, general manager of Proto Labs, Germany, says: “We have become increasingly aware of the significant enhancements plating makes to the capabilities of the resultant part, hence our move to offer these services in-house. Now, with plating technology and operational expertise, we support product testing and project progression even further.”
For further information www.protolabs.co.uk