Editors Note: This survey focuses on primary aluminum production patents granted recently in the U.S. and Canada, neighboring countries working together since the industry began. Today, Canada is one of the largest aluminum exporters to the U.S. A large majority of Canada’s primary aluminum is exported to the U.S., making it an important raw material […]
Joseph C. Benedyk
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Editor’s Note: The lightest of all metals, lithium is a fundamental material for the production of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (LIBs) which achieve high energy and power densities thanks to the unique atomic structure and electrochemical properties of lithium. Having been globally commercialized for some three decades, LIBs are available in various types, based on cathode […]
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Editor’s Note: Since the June issue of Light Metal Age ran the Viami International Inc. article on aluminum giga-castings in car manufacturing, the topic of high pressure die casting (HPDC) has prompted interest as a focus of this column, especially as it applies to automotive applications. Such castings predominate in today’s cars that are powered […]
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Editor’s Note: Positive environmental and commercial considerations have driven the rapid rise of secondary aluminum in achieving about a third of global aluminum consumption today. Data from the Aluminum Association and the International Aluminum Institute indicate that recycling aluminum uses 90-95% less energy compared with primary aluminum and ~75% of all aluminum ever produced since […]
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Editor’s Note: Part II supplements the International Patent Calendar published in October 2021 on “Additive Manufacturing of Light Metals.” This second version covers selected U.S. patents on the subject that were published more recently. The rapid pace of invention in additive manufacturing (AM) worldwide is due not only to the rapid prototyping of complex shapes […]
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“The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented.” — Denis Gabor, nobelist and author of Inventing the Future (1963) Editor’s Note: As aluminum extrusion applications extend to most business areas, especially for B&C, transportation, industrial, consumer, and defense, it is no wonder that inventions utilizing aluminum extrusions to meet present and future needs […]
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“The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented.” — Denis Gabor, Nobelist and author of Inventing the Future (1963) Editor’s Note: In the first of some 22 US patents granted to Charles Martin Hall for his invention of the aluminum electrolysis process, he basically claimed an inert anode “formed of copper, platinum, or […]
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Editors Note: Aluminum and its alloys are passed through hot and cold rolling mills throughout the world to make thinner and longer products in the direction of rolling for a variety of applications in a range of lengths, thicknesses, and widths. In the rolling process, the aluminum slab may end up as either a hot […]
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Editor’s Note: Constantly changing, constantly innovating, the transportation industry relies on aluminum and every other materials group in manufacturing their products, which today move us speedily across land, sea, air, and even into space itself. All told, in 2021, transportation represented the biggest global aluminum market share with some 32% of all primary or secondary […]