Aluminum On The Move

so aluminum wait a minute just wait till i finish announcing the title aluminum wait wait i said aluminum on the move that's not the right kind of train [Music] sometimes the producer becomes very fond of a certain kind of scene [Music] all right now that's enough [Music] that's enough i said this is a serious film this is the story of alcoa aluminum wire rod and bar and screw machine stock and they're ever growing applications that's better that's much better now if we have your attention we ask you to consider these trucks filled with alcoa screw machine stock and other wire rod and bar products as you know screw machine stock is the term assigned to certain sizes of wire rod and bar used in the screw machine products industry now these trucks are headed for fabricating plants all over america so let's think of the loads they carry not as raw aluminum stock but as finished products is it a part for a home appliance [Music] not that one something for the aviation industry no not that one nor that one either dog on it all right that's more like it maybe aluminum wire was used to make these window screens or aluminum christmas trees maybe it's a part for a hearing aid oh no [Music] whatever the ultimate end product chances are the wire rod or bar stock from which it was made was sold by alcoa or an alcoa independent distributor for example alcoa distributors sell more than 70 percent of all alcoa aluminum screw machine stock approximately 50 million pounds of aluminum are used by the screw machine industry every year that's between two and three percent of the market about 500 million pounds of brass are used for screw machine products every year accounting for another twenty percent of the market two billion pounds of steel are used every year for screw machine products and that accounts for a whopping 77 of the market but now let's just consider the aluminum brass ratio for a moment if just one third of the screw machine parts now made in brass were to be made in aluminum it would double the sale of aluminum screw machine stock every year 100 million pounds of aluminum instead of 50 million pounds it would mean twice as much aluminum screw machine stock headed for the fabricating plants of the nation the result of conversion from brass to aluminum and of course many screw machine products now made in steel could be converted to aluminum as well many screw machine products can be made better and at less cost by using aluminum distributors perform a valuable service to their customers by switching them to aluminum and also the distributors make more money by selling aluminum but now let's consider the value of aluminum as a screw machine stock we don't need the trucks right now cut the trucks will you that's enough of the trucks i said never mind that just give us a shot of some screw machines all right then let's take a look at the alcoa screw machine alloys and find out some of the advantages they offer alcoa aluminum alloy 2011 is the alloy selected for most applications for example it's the alloy selected for wiring devices or television and radio components or any other such design situation where excellent machinability and low cost are the primary considerations alcoa alloy 2011 is the freest cutting aluminum alloy ever machined it's as fast or faster than free machining brass with identical tooling and it cuts three times faster than steel with far less tool wear incidentally the lens mounts on cameras normally are made from alcoa alloy 2011 stock remember this alloy anodizes readily now this part was formally made of steel nowadays it's made of strong lightweight aluminum it cost the manufacturer less because less machining time was involved and the aluminum part needed no surface finishing or take alcoa aluminum alloy 2024 this alloy has the highest tensile strength of all alcoa screw machine alloys because of its high shear strength it is often used for fasteners it is also ideal for aircraft parts no no not that kind that's better now alloy 2024 is also used a great deal nowadays for missile fittings not that kind of a missile all right that's more like it now let's look at alcoa aluminum alloy 2017 this alloy provides good machinability and strength ease of deep drilling is one of its advantages aluminum weighs a third as much as brass and it cuts just as fast as brass resulting in appreciably reduced costs finally it machines to a clean bright finish now if you want to use your screw machine parts in a highly corrosive atmosphere no not that kind of an atmosphere i mean a damp or gaseous atmosphere that's better the steam iron alcoa alloy 6061 is the alloy that provides excellent resistance to corrosion it's also the alloy to use when exceptional finishing characteristics are required aluminum offers a wider range of finishing possibilities than other metals alloy 6061 can be welded easily and it provides great strength and resistance to corrosion even without plating [Music] but is it possible to produce an aluminum screw machine stock alloy that will combine all the best mechanical and physical properties of the others well alcoa metallurgists have just about done that they've come up with alcoa aluminum alloy 6262 the first new aluminum screw machine stock alloy in 25 years this new alloy can be used in a wide variety of screw machine parts alloy 6262 in the t9 temper has a higher yield strength than other screw machine stock alloys it offers better machinability than most others and it provides excellent corrosion resistance comparable to alloy 6061 in fact one of its major uses nowadays is in marine diesel fittings and marine hardware above decks and below alloy 6262 has its economic advantages too buyers can reduce inventories by stocking just one or two alloys instead of four or five they can streamline their purchasing by ordering in larger quantities and thereby keeping their production programs on schedule but now let's review the advantages of aluminum screw machine stock in general aluminum weighs only one third as much as brass and in strength it compares very well with brass and of course the finished product costs much less these are brass and aluminum bushings used in the electrical industry as you can see they're exactly the same size now if a larger bushing were necessary it could be fabricated from aluminum and the aluminum part would still weigh less and cost less than the smaller brass bushing in other words the larger stronger aluminum part actually weighs less and costs less and how do you save when you convert from steel to aluminum you save on machine time these are equally efficient hubs for automatic temperature control devices one is aluminum the other is steel the overall material and machining cost of the steel hub was almost 37 cents while the overall cost of the aluminum hub was less than 25 cents but now let's go back to messina and take a look at the production of wire rod and bar including screw machine stock all right never mind that and never mind that either alcoa now employs thousands of people in 30 plants throughout the nation and many of these people work at the wire rod and bar plant in messina new york this is the smelting operation that provides the basic aluminum metal this modern smelting plant is the result of developments and improvements on the basic process invented over 75 years ago by charles martin hall the founder of modern aluminum production after smelting the molten metal is cast into ingots the ingots are sent to the blooming mill where they are rolled into blooms the bloom is then cut into specified lengths and then scalped and then the bloom is ready for further rolling perhaps it will be turned into structural shapes such as angles channels z-bars or forging stock for the manufacture of such items as airplane landing gears and wing spars or perhaps it will be turned into rod stock in the 12 inch continuous rolling mill or fabricated into various sizes of rod bar and structural shapes in the 18 inch mill small rods and bars and fine wire are produced in the merchant mill very likely the wire in the aluminum screens on your home came from this mill up to 10 million pounds of aluminum are kept in stock at all times in the messina warehouse from fine wire to large structural shapes which may be used eventually in the construction of a great transmission tower this huge supply of wire rod and bar and structural shapes permits immediate partial shipment of most rush orders and then the planning department goes to work to hurry the rest of the order through the mill of course the heart of any major industry is the place where the quality of the product is continuously tested and where the product is continually improved to meet the growing demands of the industry's customers the latest improvement in alcoa aluminum screw machine stock is a special finish which makes surface cutting easier permits closer tolerances and prolongs tool life this is in addition to previous alcoa controls which reduced tool wear in subsurface cutting the efforts of alcoa's research and development division are resulting in the ever-increasing application of aluminum parts in various fields we've talked about the use of alcoa alloys in standard screw machine stock but alcoa also makes aluminum hollow screw machine stock in alloys 2011 2017 and 6262 and mechanical tube in 2024 6061 and 707.5 alloys all together six alloys the broadest range in the industry then there are the other wire rod and bar products and all the standard structural shapes which are creating a new construction concept in america in other areas too aluminum is proving itself the most adaptable of metals for instance one large producer of automotive equipment is now using a carburetor choke shaft made of alcoa 2011 alloy screw machine stock not that car and another manufacturer is using aluminum control valves or pistons in an automatic transmission and aluminum screw machine parts are being used increasingly in home appliances not that one but of course it's in the air that aluminum really comes into its own not that one please aluminum will get you to new york or paris or hong kong and one of these days it may get you or your children to the moon as we said in the beginning aluminum is really on the move no no not those scenes [Music] no no no we want to see people talking about aluminum [Music] no no not those people we want alcoa customers [Applause] no no get those people out of there [Music] no darn it no [Applause] [Music] bring back the train aluminum on the move the aluminum train no no no [Music] uh [Applause] oh no [Music] excuse me these film producers you know but you got the message didn't you about aluminum alcoa aluminum screw machine stock wire rod and bar and structural shapes [Music] ah