April 2011 - Aluminum Mania |
 |
|
--Design tips to reduce machining costs-- |
|
Pro Tips - April 2011
Aluminum Mania
Last month's newsletter was an overview of some of the different types of tools used in the turning process. This month we are going to share some thoughts about our favorite metal - Aluminum. Thank you very much to Jon Edwards for this month's newsletter.
Figure A: Grain Structure of Aluminum.
Despite being relatively available in its elemental form, aluminum is highly dependent on processing and energy. It takes approximately eight tons of bauxite to get one ton of aluminum, and the process of converting alumina (processed bauxite) into one ton of aluminum requires 12.4 megawatt-hours of electricity (or a quarter more than the average U.S. household uses in one year). A ton of aluminum equates to roughly 1" thick piece and 12 x 12 feet.
Figure B: Aluminum Foam.
The current downside to aluminum is that increased demand of aluminum has striped inventories and aluminum continues to increase in price, as shown by the price and inventory graphs below. Since around the end of 2008, when aluminum prices were incredibly (and historically) low, prices have increased about 90%. Unfortunately, this will have to be passed on at some point in the form of increased part prices (particularly for anything that was priced in the recent past). Figure C: LME Aluminum Inventory & 5 yr. Price.
Given the trends of aluminum and energy prices, the best advice we can give you is that minimizing stock size is, in many cases, going to be worth the return on investment. Material costs are anywhere from 10 to 35 percent of a part’s total cost depending on the size, complexity, and outside processing required. If your part is 0.960” thick, for example, we will likely have to use 1.25” thick material because we will not have enough material to hold on to with 1" thick material. If your part is 6 x 10”, the weight difference is 1.5 pounds per part. At $2.00 per pound, this excess material will cost $3.00 but at $4.00 per pound it will be double that. Imagine the rockstar reputation you could earn if you were able to cut your part costs despite increasing material prices!
Figure D: Bracket with lots of material waste.
Keep on fighting the good fight against engineered-in waste and let us know if we can help - .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We have some great partners for extrusion and can quickly evaluate the suitability of a custom extrusion for your application.
|
 Like our newsletters? Inquire about a DFM Bootcamp to be held at your company. Latest News:
Read More >> Read More >> Read More >> Read More >> See the Pro Tips Archive for past issues. >> You can also subscribe to the Pro Tips newsletter here. >> Part of the Month: Every month we feature a really cool part that we have made. April's Part of the Month is a machined part which was originally very hard to hold onto based on the curved shape around the perimeter. We worked with the customer's engineers to add some tooling holes which would not affect the final fit or function of the part. It made it possible to hold the part more easily and achieve the high cosmetic finishes that were required.
Feedback and Suggestions:
If you have any questions about topics in this newsletter or any ideas for a topics in future Pro Tips please email us - .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You can also leave comments about any newsletter at the bottom of the online version. For questions, Email us .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) For RFQs, Email us .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
|
Pro CNC Inc · 445 Sequoia Dr. Suite 113 · Bellingham, WA 98226 |
