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I would like to blog about the opportunity most of us have in the casthouse to increase throughput in our operational areas and briefly give an example. The purpose of such a project is to maximise the output from any casting facility and identify any snags, bottlenecks, maintenance, production or process constraints. The project should be run with focus, individually (i.e. 1 x VDC process route at a time) don't try and boil the sea and run several process streams in the casthouse in one go, you will get lost, swamped and possibly cross contaminate the data. Communicate, as always, communication is the key to making such a project a success. Take the time to discuss the project, the goals and expectations and outcome with the teams. If you have the option to discuss with the larger group during a town hall meeting, for example, then this would be the place to raise the focus on the project and get everyone's buy in from senior management to shop floor employee. Things to consider: Below is a typical example of a cycle time study conducted on a slab VDC line. The sample was for 8 drops, however as I said earlier the bigger the sample rate the better for data statistics. Don't be tempted to run the project over a period too long as this may impact the operations team and negatively effect the process. From the fictional (but representative) data presented during the 36 hours period of the test, a total of 8 drops were cast. The average cycle time reached was 4:40 hours. This leads to a pace of 5.1 drops/day. Now for the stress testing : By excluding the downtimes for equipment and process issues, the cycle time decreases to 3:42 hours for a potential pace of 6.5 drops/day. We can see that the main bottlenecks in the turnaround time are the pit stripping (partially based on operator skill (variation between shifts)) and the cooling of the slabs. During the test, the 25 minutes cooling time was used as per the recipe and safety instruction.. An interesting observation was found that except for one case due to furnace temperature, the preparation time did not impacted the overall casting cycle time. With such 'hard' data you can clearly see that improvements are possible, with even just one additional cast per day (metal input permitting) the casthouse can make significant improvements, reducing the CIP (Cost of Ingot Produced) conversion cost and giving the sales and marketing teams more metal to sell, and in the current climate with the LME so strong that's not a bad thing! Many thanks for taking the time to read this blog, please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues. Should you still require further help on this particular subject reach out and please contact : albergtech@gmail.com George

The process of dross management (in my experience) is rather a neglected, overlooked or forgotten subject and not a lot of companies pay the due diligence to this topic and as a consequence fail to retain the hidden costs associated. The misconception is that that dross is unavoidable and part of the process , its not a problem, its has relatively a low cost impact and its a messy gaseous job that no one like to do. This blog is aimed to stimulate and will add a little detail into what to look out for, how to minimise the dross formation at source, recover the aluminium from the dross and process it for maximum recovery with minimum environmental impact. While dross, or Aluminium Oxide, to be more specific, is an unavoidable 'problem' in aluminium smelting and casting the shrewd companies know how to minimise this to their commercial advantage. I say "problem" in speech marks as while its a problem in molten metal when disturbed. In the solidified form its a great benefit as aluminium oxide (Al2O3) has many fantastic characteristics. The oxide is formed literally in hundreds of picoseconds and stops any further oxidation of the host (aluminium) unlike many other metals thus protecting it and adding a very hard, thermally insulating coating impervious to further oxidation and corrosion. We know that dross is a by-product of aluminium production but what actually is it and how is it formed in our industry? There are two types of dross, WHITE dross and BLACK dross. White dross is formed in primary smelting and remelting primary 'clean' metal. It has a high metal (aluminium) content (sometimes up to 70% net weight). Little to no salt content (if any coming from from the RFI / TAC treatments, but for sake of argument lets consider there is none). The remainder of the composition of white dross is made up from NMP (Non Metallic Particulate), oxides and various other aluminium and alloying compounds. Black dross is formed from the scrap recycling process, its has a lower metal content than white dross and contains up to 50% salt which is used in the aluminium separation process during recovery. In both white and black dross there can be other impurities such as electrolytic bath, carbides and refractories. If we consider the dross value versus the aluminium content its literally a linear relationship with the lower the aluminium content the higher the dross cost. Dross processing costs are around $400/mt and remains constant its not linked to aluminium content, however processing losses increase with aluminium content so its very important to minimise the aluminium content in the dross and we will discuss this in more detail later in the blog. Calculating Dross generation (gross and net) : As dross processing comes at a cost the mot effective way to reduce cost is to avoid the occurrence from the start. Minimising the dross can come in a number of forms. Melting Process: Scrap selection and staging. (scrap thickness is important)). Charging process and sequence. Furnace parameters (temperature, design, burner configuration, stirring etc). Surface Turbulence: Crucible treatment. Crucible transfer to furnace. Furnace preparation. Fluxing. Alloying. Skimming / drossing. Temperature. Casting: Spout design. Fall heights. In terms of dross generation, moving or disturbing the metal (surface turbulence) either through crucible to furnace transfer, pouring or casting contributes to the highest impact on dross formation (around 65%). The remaining 35% comes from furnace preparation and skimming. Turbulence can be caused within the furnace from several processing factors such as crucible transfer, stirring, fluxing, alloying and skimming of the dross itself. There are a few ways to lower the dross formation which could be lowering the transfer fall height, stirring the metal slowly and steadily and using good alloying additions that go into solution quickly. Skimming the furnace we will discuss later. One way to reduce the oxidation on crucible - furnace metal transfer is to use a syphon. From the image above you can see how this system operates, using the The Venturi effect to allow the molten aluminium to flow through the constricted section of a pipe from the raised crucible and into the furnace. The flow is regulated and below the metal surface in the furnace as not to create turbulence. Results on melt loss can be immediate and as low as 0.6%. Scrap staging inside the furnace and gauge selection are critical to maximise the aluminium recovery and minimise the dross formation during the melting and transfer process. From the charts below you can clearly see that the gauge of the scrap influences the dross formation, this is directly linked to the overall surface area of the scrap and the oxide which resides (protects) upon it. All coatings on the metal such as paints, lacquers and contamination (oils, inks, sealants) should be removed prior to melting. This does not only effect the metal recovery but the volatiles can act as a combustible fuel and cause safety concerns. "Remember the melting process is the dominant operation for dross generation" The next stage after melting the scrap and filling the furnace is to remove the excess dross, this acts as a thermal barrier either restricting heat to be absorbed by the melt or released from it if the temperatures are too high to cast. This is known as skimming. Below you can see an image of the skimming process. In this process the dross is manually moved to the side of the furnace and then with the use of a fork lift and tool removed into dross pans. A good skimming practice removes the dross without removing the aluminium and contaminating or enriching the dross. Skimming should be conducted following the SWI as high temperatures particularly on Mg alloys can lead to thermiting and melt further losses. Thermiting dross is also a hazard to the plant and personnel and can damage dross pans and cooling equipment, like the dross presses or STAS inert gas coolers. Below are some images of thermiting dross and the consequences not only to melt losses. After the skimming process and assuming that the dross is not thermiting the next stage is to cool it as quickly as possible. We do this to capture the aluminium value within the dross. Thermiting dross can lose between 1 and 2% of its metallic content per minute when exposed to air If we look at the burned out dross pan in the images above the thermiting dross was allowed to cool overnight and burn itself out. All the residual aluminium was lost and what resulted was only aluminium oxide, the aluminium reverted back to its previous form before all that energy was input at the smelter to break the oxygen - aluminium chemical bonds... What a waste! Cooling The Dross There are several tried and tested methods to cool the dross so it can be loaded and sent to your dross processor, or if your lucky enough, processed in house. For the sake of discussion I wont give my opinion or any lengthy detail on which method or equipment is best, but share some insights into what methods are available and how they differ. Air Cooling: Highly wasteful, inefficient and lowers recoveries significantly. AVOID! Closed, constrained air excluded: A very good method which uses either Argon or nitrogen to 'cool' the dross. The process rather than cool the dross evacuates the air so thermiting can not take place. Simple method with low maintenance costs. Particular attention should be made to cooler seal condition so expensive inert gasses are not wasted. Dross Compression: Another method to cool the dross is by compression. The dross and pan are squeezed and the molten metal collected in the base of the pan for future charging directly back to the furnace. The remaining dross 'puck' is sent to the processor for recovery. The maintenance of these units can be quite significant. Rotary Dross Cooler: No longer such a common method due to the safety aspects of this method. The dross is cooled in a rotating drum which has water sprayed onto the outer surface. The maintenance costs are high and the capital investment significant when compared to other methods. When working with your dross processors its always a good idea to know the content of aluminium in your dross, obviously this can change from alloy to alloy, furnace to furnace and shift to shift, BUT knowing this value ensures that your processor also knows how serious you take this 'recycling' and what you do with this data will help your operations team understand how to improve. Spend time working with production on skimming don't pull off too much aluminium into the dross pans. Use the data to justify melt losses and any process capital you may require. The payback just may surprise you. A fire essay test can be used to determine the aluminium content in the dross. Your dross processor can also help perform this test. Once you have this data you can work on the mass balance of your systems and the actual metal recoveries. All good information for your casthouse management team. Concluding: Review your methods, practices and standard work instructions. Minimise metal transfers and cascading fall heights to avoid unnecessary turbulence. The best method for crucible transfer is by Siphon. Prepare the scrap and stage correctly, avoid contaminated scrap and balance the gauge to aid recoveries. Adding the scrap by vortex, submergence with the aid of stirring (automatic or manual) will help dissolution rates but care should be taken to avoid excess turbulence. Don't add more than 10% scrap to a melt charge. Consider fluxing with an RFI to clean up the melt and remove alkali metals. This will also aid homogeneity. Skim with clean tools, coated and with a steady pace, again avoid undue turbulence. Pause at the cill before pulling of the dross to allow metal to fall back into the furnace. Follow the SWI for the frequency. Use the dross press, inert gas cooler or rotary dross cooler. Don't leave the material to thermite and cool by air. Justification for CAPEX can be made quickly to invest in any of these methods. Remember 1-2% losses of Aluminium in the dross for every minute it thermites!!! Many thanks for taking the time to read this blog, please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues. Should you still require further help on this particular subject reach out and please contact : albergtech@gmail.com George

Its a generally understood requirement in todays competitive aluminium B to B supply chain that you want your business to have a Unique Value Proposition, an excellent customer - supplier relationship and in return become their preferred supplier of choice. A good relationship can allow for easier negotiations on increasing premiums, guarantee larger take-offs, joint R and D projects and open doors to other VAP (Value Added Products) within their portfolio such as packaging, automotive, marine or aerospace and of course bring onboard qualification opportunities in their other production sites within the company. It could also lead to opportunities to produce alternative products currently not supplied like High Purity, Wire Rod or Extrusion Billets. Avoid being a "me 2" supplier!, set and then lead the way... As a supplier you should places a strong focus on the development and output of value-added products (VAP) at the higher end of the upstream business. This will bring in a higher premium and kudos for your business from your competitors and peers. Always have the aim to be a global leading supplier for delivery, high quality and of course technical support. Personnel retainment, succession planning and recruitment of key personnel is paramount to sustain your annual growth plan and demonstrates to your customer that you have all bases covered and are, more importantly, serious about your business and improvement initiatives. In-house R&D centres and test laboratories provide the company with a strong competitive advantage. Ensure all certification, calibrations and QA plans are regularly reviewed for conformity. There could be nothing more destructive than to have a world class laboratory and find that the certified standards, calibration or international certification have expired, it happens and al lot more than you would think. Your customer will no doubt have ever changing needs and the needs should be considered as a "moving target". Keep on top of this with a regular dialogue, be that by customer / supplier meetings or with your annual customer / supplier survey, although the frequency may be too drawn out. In recent times using Zoom, Facetime or WebEx online meetings have proven to be very successful and this may be an alternative to face to face. Demonstrate during your meetings that you closely evaluate market demands and adapt your product portfolio accordingly to meet the markets ever changing needs. Focus on differentiating your product portfolio based on demand, trends, R and D results and applications. Further develop your technical sales team to have world class recognised experts. The team should be built with a cross functioning skillset, academic, fully competent in Lean, CI, TQM and International and regional quality standards (VDA 6.3, ISO9001, IATF 16949 etc).. As I'm mostly biased to quality, customer support and technical sales, for the remainder of the blog I will focus on this area, needless to say that Planning, Marketing, Sales, Logistics and Transport also require extensive support and attention to detail in a similar manner and the process should cover the entirety of relations to maximise on the supplier / customer relationship. If we discuss some of the technical aspects to move 'up the league' as a supplier, focus should be on the following, these are in no particular order of preference but meant to stimulate interest: (1) : Bespoke Solutions: Provide unique bespoke local solutions to customers for downstream quality, process and productivity improvements. This can be in the form of on or offsite support. remote working or training. Its always enlightening for technical personnel to visit the client and walk in his shoes, it will broaden your teams experience and promotes the feeling of teamwork between you and the customer. (2) : Research and development: If you have R and D facilities, use them!. You can work in collaboration with the customer on his next product(s). Having your 'finger in his pie' brings about stonger bonds, future sales opportunities and allows cooperation on alloy development opportunities, de-snagging possible production problems both at his premises and yours. (3) : Product Qualification: Keep this process simple. A fast qualification plan with accurate process capability analysis will work wonders with your customer. Ensure that his production samples (OES disc, metallurgical slice) and chemical composition are sent on time and are received either before or with his product. Don't forget for automotive clients a Control Plan, PPAP and PFMEA will be required. (4) : Technical Support: The value of technical support to both your internal and external customer can never be understated. (But, I would say this!). It brings about a camaraderie between colleagues and clients alike. The support should develop KPI's (Key Performance Indictors) to keep production aligned with your technical team and more importantly your customers expectations. Use a statistical data approach to quality monitoring. Display performance charts (as below) within the production areas, keep your teams informed not only the customer. Don't neglect this task and only apply to automotive clients. Set the standard for all products to avoid process uncertainty and standardise work instructions and training. It could be debated that this additional work is unnecessary, however I'm my experience more damage is caused by having two or three separate process routes rather than one simplified version, albeit more demanding. Have a regular dialogue with your customer. This includes the internal and external customer. Share your customers expectations with the production team, let them know 'WHY' your giving them a 'hard time' with the demands you put on them in the work instruction. Constructive communication is the key to success. Use your team! They are technical experts in their respective field. Ask them to conduct internal and external training, deliver technical seminars, workshops, roadshows and conferences. Support OEM and customer joint developments opportunities. (5) : Benchmarking: In any industry its always good to keep abreast of what your competition is doing, how the industry is developing and what the OEM's are working on. Trade shows, conferences, training and professional publications can add value to the technical team but don't always look outside your organisation. Challenge your internal process, this can be stressful and strain internal relations but stay professional and look at what the equipment was designed to do (name plate) and how you can stress the process to do more. Debottleneck and move the goalpost. Keep going until your satisfied that you have looked at all areas of production, packing and logistics. Benchmarking will release additional capacity, indicate how good you are, indicate areas of improvement and address professional support required for any business case for future CAPEX projects. (6) : Claims Management: Even the best companies in the world have occasionally dissatisfied customer and claims. The key to success is how you handle them. Claims should be professionally addressed, not all customer claims are legitimate of course, however this is more than likely to be a misunderstanding on their behalf rather than a breach of trust or devious endeavour. Talk with your customer and understand their position. Follow a routine claims management process, have a written SWI (Standard Work Instruction) and follow it. This should follow a very simple and time dependant route, as an example... A) Acknowledge the claim request in writing and request samples (if applicable) (usually within 24 hours). B) Enter the claim into your management system (EMS, ERP or CRM for example). C) Measure the impact and any containment required for current WIP or material in transit. D) Start your internal investigation using your preferred process methodology (5 Y's, RCCA, 8D etc) E) Share with your customer and compensate (if applicable), Perform this task as quickly and accurately as possible and aligned with your SWI. F) Validate the learnings on other production lines, facilities within the group, other customers products or alloys. Many thanks for taking the time to read this blog, please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues and remember the process of building good relationships with your customers is a long term initiative and it wont be done overnight. Your customers are of course aware of this, but its better to demonstrate that your on the path and moving forward than to stay still and fall behind the competition. Should you still require further help on this particular subject reach out and please contact : albergtech@gmail.com George

Written by: George English EMC (Electro Magnetic Casting) The use of EMC casting has been around now for decades and is not new to the aluminium industry. EMC favours itself to wrought alloys that are susceptible to hot cracking in the 3xxx and 5xxx series, which is why large volume aluminium casthouses of these alloys have opted more recently for this technology. The previous and somewhat still in use ‘conventional’ method of DC casting (Such as Wagstaff Epsilon (TM)) can require a lubrication method to act as an interface between the mould bore and the metal contact face in a bid to ensure a clean and smooth rolling face surface. Several lubricants are available that can work such as the pre casting method of an application of grease such as Pyroteks water soluble ‘Varma’, ‘Kluber’ Metal Star 820 or ‘Mobil’ SHC230. I have experience with these methods but surely other alternatives exist. An alternative to an application of grease is the continuous oil feed from the mould head, although this is no longer a preferred solution due to the water treatment requirements to remove emulsified oils from the cooling water and the level of contamination. EMC does not require any lubricant since no interface contact is made between the metal surface and the mould. i.e. No primary cooling takes place. As such shell zones of typically 1-2mm can be avoided (actual measurements for EMC are around 0.1mm - 0.2mm so significantly less). The benefit of 'no' shell zone is that there is no requirement for expensive scalping to remove the inhomogeneous area between the rolling face and the bulk microstructure of the product. Since there is no contact and no drag forces on the liquid face of the ingot, casting speeds in excess of 80mm/min are achievable. Conventional Casting (Direct Contact) EMC Technology (No direct contact) Another major benefit of EMC over conventional tooling is the avoidance of edge cracking during hot rolling. Edge cracking can occur due to the same shell zone which exists around the periphery of the ingot, previously removed by scalping from the top and bottom of the ingot, the sides can remain unscalped. Some mills do insist that the ingot profile is altered (physical design of the mold) or that the sides to be scalped either partially or fully, however this is not always achievable given the age of the plant and the technology employed. Again to reiterate this is not required as EMC claims not to create a shell zone worthy of creating such problems. On the downside the EMC casting technology requires a very complex automated system that requires the need for comprehensive technical knowhow, this can be an issue during greenfield start-ups for both maintenance and process engineers. The equipment itself is extremely expensive, has longer lead times from the OEM (such as Wagstaff) to manufacture and has a high energy requirement for the electrical field used to ‘control’ the metal interface and push it away from the mould bore wall. (which can be energised for over 2 hours during the entire length of the cast). LHC (Low Head Composite) Casting LHC technology is a fairly new technology and a successful compromise between conventional DC casting (with the use of a lubricant, continuous lube or grease) and EMC casting previously mentioned above. LHC offers the flexibility of variable widths up to 200mm! LHC can also offer savings over conventional Wagstaff tooling when we discuss yield in respect of side trimming and scalping. In theory not as comprehensively claimed or large as EMC but midway between conventional tooling and that of EMC. The shell zone is controlled by means of the insulating graphite mould liner and the metal head and quoted as less than 1mm. LHC can also decrease casting time over conventional tooling by increasing the casting speed (for 3xxx and 5xxx series 65 and 56mm/min respectively or speeds thereof). The ease of use of LHC technology over EMC and conventional tooling can be demonstrated in various plants across the world. It has a large operating ‘process window’ and can operate in extreme environments such as the Middle East, Siberia and Iceland! The formation of the butt can be greatly controlled by the use of split jet technology, which employs a second series of water jets that are activated to assist when required giving more or less heat transfer as required. The use of the second jets and the graphite (insulating) mould liner during steady state casting gives the ‘Low Head’ required to assist in the secondary cooling and reduce the primary (responsible for the creation of the inhomogeneous shell zone). This low head control the shell, reduces liquation, gives excellent metallurgical properties and adds to the smooth surface finish to the ingot. The improved as-cast surface is quoted similar to that of EMC ingots, and requires less scalping and edge trim than conventional DC ingots cast with such technologies like Epsilon moulds. During the run condition the metal head is gradually lowered to reduce the primary cooling effect from that of the graphite mould liner and greatly reduce the shell zone. Comparisons of EMC and LHC. If we consider the comparison of EMC and LHC based solely on y own personal experience, some OEM literature, white papers and claimed facts, then EMC will produce a slightly superior final product to that of an ingot produce with LHC technology, however we know this given past exposure not necessarily to be the case. Scalping. A significant benefit of EMC in the reduction / elimination of scalping and is highly acclaimed. Unfortunately this benefit is not being realized in full at certain production facilities, scalping is still taking place as the ingots are not purely flat, they repeatedly demonstrate a dog bone shape which requires scalping to bring them back into rectangular form. This additional scalping adds losses into the system and the complication of processing difficult run-around scrap in the form of scalper chips. The dog bone shape may be due to casting speed and may be corrected with appropriate casting parameters, however, at the stage of writing this article it was not confirmed to be that was actually the case and further intensive process work with the OEM and customer is required. LHC technology does not exhibit this problem and comes with an OEM guarantee for the ingot profile to within specific tolerances as below. Ingot Geometry The ingot geometry of an LHC produced slab is regular, repeatable and comes with a Wagstaff guarantee with tolerances that are tighter than that of EMC resulting in fewer process losses and offers the ability to meet external customer demands. See table below. Further to the specification outlined generally any OEM supplier of mold sets would have the following acceptance criteria associated with the order for a new LHC mould set. Side Trimming As large bore EMC casting for both 3xxx and 5xxx series alloys is relatively new, it should be stressed that some new (wider) bores are somewhat a more difficult to predict when it comes to the design of the mould and the actual physical size of the ingot. Although at the time of writing this article, this was the case I believe this process should be more robust and the OEM should now be able to provide a guarantee similar to such technologies as Epsilon and LHC. This should be requested during the design stages of the project. Capital Investment and Delivery requirements The capital required to procure the EMC moulds is almost twice that required for a set of LHC moulds. With lead times for both EMC and LHC in excess of 30 weeks (again please contact the OEM for an accurate assessment). EMC technology may actually exceed 52 weeks. Challenges and Opportunities : During the commissioning of the project it would be suggested to look at the analytics of the ingot against the design of the mould bore and to understand and optimize the EMC moulds to minimise production losses at the customers hot mill. This would be in relation to: Ingot Geometry Butt Swell Concavity / (Convexity) Bow and Twist Surface finish Casting Speed Metallurgical Testing Shell zone Average Grain and Cell size Inclusion level Hydrogen content Shrinkage cavity depth It would be a good idea to produce process control charts depicting KPI’s regarding all aspects of geometry and metallurgical performance to understand the ‘nominal’ average(s) and deviations about this norm. Water Quality Water quality plays a significant role when it comes to casting with LHC technology, far more than it does with conventional tooling and EMC. Stability and consistency are key to success in terms of water treatment, with target values were specified by the OEM as below. Water temperature For commissioning purposes the OEM requires consistent water temperature. The system shall maintain the water temperature within +/‑ 3°C (+/‑ 5.4°F) between drops. Water temperatures between 20° and 30°C will be maintained yearly with a target of 25˚C. Chemicals used to control water chemistry affect quenchability and shall be added on a continuous basis. All solids >1.0 mm in any dimension shall be removed from the cooling water, prior to the casting table, with a filtration system. It has been noted from previous experience that some MENA casthouses employ contract hire to perform continuous water monitoring and treatment to get the best from the system and maintain a constant and stable water process. This is really a practical idea and comes at a cost, nevertheless the cost is justified in the event of long delays and downtime due to water related problems. and it has happened! Conclusion It would be my conclusion that It is still relatively unclear with which technology is best suited for new and developing casthouses going forward casting the 3xxx and 5xxx series alloys. Should the casthouse, or sales and marketing team look towards external sales of rolling slab in 3xxx and 5xxx series alloys then the casthouse must get tighter in terms of geometrical specifications on the ingots cast whether that is with LHC (and the guarantees associated with this tried and established method), or with EMC. Previous experience suggests that EMC at the site we monitored and supported was not capable to offer external sales due to geometrical differences and dog bone shaped ingots. The cast ingot thickness nor widths that they can readily use in European, American or Asian rolling mills. Presently at one site the EMC is not achieving the desired geometrical specification. In particular the widths (with a +10-12mm addition to the ordered specification) are a cause for concern. The additional width creates additional run-around scrap at the hot mill, the volume to which is again yet to be determined, but does come with additional handling risk, remelt costs and adds another process step in the route to rolling. Slabs have been measured with an irregular profile (dog bone) which requires scalping prior to hot rolling, this additional step completely negates any benefit that the expensive EMC technology which was the desired intention and implemented to do. Scalping should only be required for any surface damage to salvage a previously unusable ingot, not as a routine process for irregular / concave shaped ingots. The major attraction and selling point for EMC moulds and technology, based on topics previously discussed, is that it produces virtually no shell zone as there is no primary cooling, therefore to scalp for geometry makes no sense at all and the benefit is not realised. Predicted casting time using EMC is significantly less than LHC, however correcting the profile and dog bone shape may result in an increase in casting time as the run speed would require lowering from 81mm/min to something nearer that of LHC. Current speeds employed for LHC for AA3104 vary but as a rule of thumb we can say around 63mm/min and 56mm/min for AA5182. Surface finish is comparable for both EMC and LHC with shell zone on LHC less likely to produce as much scalping waste as the concave ingots presently do. The procurement of LHC moulds would give any sales and marketing team the opportunity to sell slab with a variable width of up to 200mm in increments of 50mm, the only requirement would be the purchase of starting heads to match the mould opening, an inexpensive alternative to ordering a full set of EMC moulds and heads for each new product. Of course depending upon the other dimensions and in particular width. (520mm or 600mm). The demands of water treatment are far more challenging for LHC technology, a full water treatment evaluation would be required if a conversion from Epsilon or EMC to LHC was requested. This should be conducted before further investment in time and money is demonstrated to conclude the opportunities to cast with LHC. Your contractor monitoring the water quality may be able to help out here and give technical justification before any change be made. It would be my recommendation that prior to any plant implementing LHC or EMC a full evaluation be made on scalping scrap generation, ingot shape geometry, water treatment and cost comparisons before your final decision is made. Many thanks for taking the time to read this blog, please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues. Should you still require further help on this particular subject reach out and please contact : albergtech@gmail.com George

So who am I..... Well for those who don't know me, and straight from my LinkedIn profile. "A safety driven, positive, successful leader, with a proven technical resume for greenfield casthouse start-up. Increase EBITA, reducing conversion and fixed costs while focusing on continuous improvement projects that address the business need in an ever changing, competitive environment. Highly self motivated and logical with an methodical approach to projects that delivers results on time and in full. A proven multi-cultural team builder and leader with man management, motivating, interpersonal, communication and influencing skills. A passion for business and customer focused excellence delivering current leading production methodologies such as Six sigma, SMED, CI and LEAN. Always willing to evaluate new challenging opportunities and always ready to relocate globally to support the role". I'm launching this website and blog in order to provide a low cost service to the industry which has afforded me a very nice career, lifestyle and the ability to travel to some far off places, and, some not so far! Closing Message So again I would like to welcome you to the blog, and sign off by asking you to share this blog and site with colleagues and friends within our fascinating industry. I'm sure there is something I can help you with having worked for some of the largest companies in the aluminium business. Alcan, Rio Tinto, EGA (Emal), Maaden, Rusal, Vedanta Aluminium and now my own Alberg Tech Ltd. Should you still require further help on any particular subject reach out and please contact : support@alberg.tech George All the best.