US +1 908 782 5800 | UK & Rest of World +44 (0) 330 822 6000

Home / Author: Luxfer MEL Technologies

Author: Luxfer MEL Technologies

Author: Luxfer MEL Technologies

News:

Luxfer MEL Technologies SoluMag® Seamless Tubes for Frac Plug Components

Experience the unparalleled performance of SoluMag® seamless tubes, meticulously designed for frac plug components. Our innovative SoluMag® products are available in both bar and seamless, extruded tube forms.

These exceptional tubes boast higher strength and impressive resistance to deformation and internal pressure, ensuring optimal performance even in the most demanding downhole environments during a typical frac operation.

Seamless tubes serve as the ultimate raw material for creating dissolvable frac plug components, thanks to their unique properties and versatility.

One of the standout benefits of SoluMag® seamless tubes is their adaptability in terms of customizable ODs and IDs. This flexibility in sizing options enables us to provide near net shapes tailored to individual frac plug components, ensuring a seamless fit for every application.

Moreover, SoluMag® seamless tubes are the go-to choice for plug components due to the consistent material properties present in every tube we produce, guaranteeing exceptional quality and reliability.

By choosing SoluMag® seamless extruded tubes for your components, you’ll reap the benefits of working with one of the lightest and most robust structural metal alloys available.

Machining SoluMag® offers numerous advantages, including:
  • Energy efficiency: Requires only about 55% of the power needed for aluminum machining
  • Speedy processing: Facilitates high cutting speeds, large feed rates, and greater depths of cut
  • Well-broken chips: Results from the superior free-cutting qualities of SoluMag
  • Prolonged tool life: Reduced tool wear ensures extended tool longevity

As part of our commitment to sustainability, Luxfer is proud to offer a drum pick-up and recycling service for your SoluMag chips.

Trust in SoluMag® seamless tubes for your frac plug components and experience the difference that quality, innovation, and precision can make.

News:

Exploring the Properties of Magnesium Alloys: Lightweight Solutions for High-Performance Applications

Luxfer MEL Technologies Lightweight Magnesium Alloys

Luxfer MEL Technologies has created a unique range of lightweight extruded magnesium alloys that offer numerous advantages over conventional materials.

Low Density and High Strength-to-Weight Ratio

Magnesium alloys have a key property that sets them apart from other metals: their low density. With a density of just 1.74 g/cm3, magnesium alloys are significantly lighter than aluminum (2.7 g/cm3) and steel (7.8 g/cm3). This lightweight characteristic makes them a popular choice for applications where weight reduction is essential, such as in aerospace and automotive industries.

Another notable property of magnesium alloys is their high strength-to-weight ratio. These alloys can achieve tensile strengths comparable to other structural metals like aluminum and steel, while maintaining a much lower weight. This balance of strength and weight reduction makes magnesium alloys an ideal choice for applications that demand both qualities.

Machinability, Castability, and Corrosion Resistance

Magnesium alloys are known for their excellent machinability, allowing them to be easily cast, forged, and extruded. They can be welded and brazed without difficulty, and exhibit good corrosion resistance. Additionally, magnesium alloys possess remarkable damping properties, making them valuable for applications requiring vibration isolation and noise reduction.

Luxfer’s Elektron® 43 Alloy: A Game-Changer in Magnesium Applications

Luxfer MEL Technologies has developed a range of unique magnesium alloys that further enhance the benefits of magnesium materials. The Elektron® 43 alloy is a lightweight, high-strength wrought magnesium alloy designed for use at temperatures up to 250˚C. Designs incorporating Elektron® 43 can achieve a 20% to 30% weight reduction compared to a corresponding aluminum design.

Elektron® 43 is available in various forms, including rolled plate, forging feedstock, and extruded bar, section, and profile. This alloy represents an optimised wrought evolution of the original casting alloy, Elektron® WE43.

The properties of Elektron® 43 make it well-suited for use as feedstock material for machining high-performance components, particularly those associated with elevated temperature performance.

Conclusion

Magnesium alloys, with their low density and high strength-to-weight ratio, are a fascinating class of materials suitable for a wide range of applications, including aerospace, automotive, and electronics. Luxfer MEL Technologies’ Elektron® 43 alloy is a testament to the potential of magnesium alloys in revolutionising various industries.

Unlock the potential of lightweight materials for your high-performance projects! Discover how magnesium alloys can fit within your projects and get in touch with the team today.

News:

Comparison of Magnesium Alloys vs Other Materials for Weight and Strength Characteristics

A Breakdown of Weight and Strength Characteristics

Luxfer MEL Technologies (LMT) provides high-performance magnesium alloys that are renowned for their exceptional combination of weight and strength. These alloys, made of magnesium and other metals, offer a clear advantage over traditional materials when it comes to weight and strength characteristics.

Magnesium is the lightest structural metal and stands out for its weight advantage, being 33% lighter than aluminum and 75% lighter than steel. This makes it the ideal material for applications where weight reduction is a key factor. Compared to aluminum and steel, magnesium alloys offer the best strength-to-weight ratio, allowing them to resist substantial stress and force while still being lightweight. This makes them particularly suitable for industries such as aerospace and automotive engineering where weight reduction is essential for improved performance and fuel efficiency. An example of its successful application is in RotaMag® AZ80 forged magnesium wheels.

Superior Strength and Durability of Magnesium Alloys: Why Our AZ80 and AZ61 Products Outperform Other Materials

High Strength and Durability of Magnesium Alloys: How Our AZ80 and AZ61 Products Compare to Other Materials. Magnesium alloys, such as our extruded AZ80 and AZ61 products, offer superior strength characteristics compared to other materials. With a high yield strength, these alloys can withstand high stress levels before deforming permanently. Additionally, their high modulus of elasticity enables them to withstand heavy loads without deforming, making them an ideal choice for applications requiring high strength, such as structural components and critical safety parts like wheels, steering, and suspension systems.

It is worth noting that while other materials like titanium and carbon fiber composites boast higher strength-to-weight ratios, they also come with a higher cost and a more complex manufacturing process.

Unbeatable Weight and Strength Characteristics of Magnesium Alloys: A Cost-Effective Solution for Various Industries

Magnesium alloys provide a unique blend of weight and strength, making them versatile and ideal for a wide range of applications. Whether it is aerospace and automotive engineering, medical, defense, or electronics, magnesium alloys offer a cost-effective and reliable solution for industries seeking a lightweight yet strong material.

Overall, magnesium alloys are an excellent choice of material for applications where weight and strength are important factors. They offer a unique combination of properties that make them suitable for a wide range of applications and industries, making them an excellent choice for manufacturers and engineers.

Get in touch today to discuss how LMT’s high performance magnesium alloys can benefit your structural designs.

News:

Resins and Zirconium, where do we stand?

Zirconium’s role in resin formulations

Different types of resins play a role in our everyday life, whether it is using an epoxy resin to fix a crack in your windscreen or a polypropylene resin molded into a bottle to hold your cleaning chemicals.

In this post, we are going to look at the function of resins and how adding zirconium into the resin formulation can improve certain properties that can be beneficial in industries such as the coatings industry. Lastly, we will look at the future of bio-based resins.

Resin process in the coatings industry

Traditional resins such as alkyd or epoxy are fully dispersed in the coating formulation, meaning the resin has spread throughout the coating once it has been applied.

However, as heat is used to dry the coating the resin moves to the surface where it crosslinks with itself to form a hydrophobic film on the surface of the coating. In industries where they want water repellent properties this is viable, but in the coatings industry this can lead to printing problems such as ink refusal and poor adhesion.

Adding zirconium to the formulation, why does it matter?

Zirconium species do not move towards the surface as heat is applied, zirconium stays within the body of the coating and crosslinks with binder molecules close by. As zirconium has cross-linked throughout the body of the coating, no hydrophobic film has formed meaning there is less chance of ink refusal problems and improved ink adhesion.

Additionally, oxygen can pass through the coating to improve the cure time. For more information check out our staple product Bacote 20.

The future: Bio based resins

As a result of global warming and the environmental push towards sustainable systems and greener products, bio-based resins offer the greatest potential for replacing/reducing paints and coatings based on fossil raw materials.

New resins vary in bio content, ranging from 30-100%. The most common plant sources for the production of bio resins are corn and soybean by-products from bio-diesel refinement. It is known that zirconium species may function the same way however further research is needed.

In conclusion, as we move towards greener resins, zirconium still offers unique properties as a cross linker in the coating formulation.

Get in contact with one of experts to discuss using Zirconium Solutions in your formulation.

News:

Luxfer MEL Technologies Achieves a Gold Sustainability Rating for 2023

Luxfer MEL Technologies is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a Gold Sustainability rating for 2023 by EcoVadis, placing us in the top 5% of rated companies operating in our industry and an improvement on our 2019 & 2020 scores, and equalling our 2022 score.

EcoVadis is an online platform providing supplier sustainability ratings and allowing our customers to assess our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. Since its founding in 2007, EcoVadis has grown to become the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, creating a global network of more than 90,000+ rated companies.

What is a Gold Sustainability Rating and why does it matter?

Luxfer MEL Technologies is committed to sustainable long-term growth. ESG matters are important to LMT and our stakeholders, and we continue to evaluate and improve our performance in relation to them, with accountability and transparency.

This reflects our continued commitment and focus on our Environment. Social and Governance program since the publication of the LUXFER Groups 2020 ESG Report

www.luxfer.com/environment-social-and-governance/

What does Luxfer MEL Technologies do?

Luxfer MEL Technologies is a leading developer and producer of highly engineered magnesium and zirconium materials with global reach.

Our high-value, innovative solutions help to improve people’s lives, keep them safer, and make their work more productive. Luxfer MEL Technologies provides material solutions enabling end-use applications that are lighter, faster, stronger, safer, higher performance and more efficient and cost-effective.

Luxfer MEL Technologies provides innovative products and solutions to customers worldwide for use in a broad range of markets, including Aerospace, Automotive, Catalysis, Oil and Gas, Ceramics and Healthcare.

To learn more about our product line and Zirconium Oxides fit into your application, contact our expert team.

News:

Zirconium Oxide – Nano Dispersion Technology

Nano technology is a hot topic in the chemical industry, due to the improved properties they can incur on the end product.

How are Zirconium Nano technologies used?
  • Drug delivery: Improved bioavailability by enhancing aqueous solubility.
  • Ceramic industry: Nano sized particles offering enhanced properties in sintered ceramics.
  • Catalysis: Speeds up catalytic reactions due to greater surface area.

Every year, new advances in material science have discovered ways to introduce nano dispersion technology into various applications; at Luxfer MEL Technologies, we are excited to be a part of that advancement.

Luxfer MEL Technologies Zirconium Oxide Nano Dispersions

Luxfer MEL Technologies are proud to offer Zirconium Oxide Nano Dispersion product line. MELsperse nano dispersions are an acidic, aqueous based product that contains a narrow particle size of Zirconium Oxide or yttrium stabilized Zirconium Oxide.  In this post, we are going to look at the unique benefits of using our products in the ceramics industry.

MELsperse

MELsperse Nano Dispersions offer the perfect starting material to produce nano grainsized ceramic articles, which in turn, offer enhanced mechanical properties and unlocks improved translucency in finished ceramic pieces.

Through wet processing techniques, it is possible to form green bodies with excellent translucency. This is due to the 40–50 nm* particle size contained within the dispersion.

*Z-Average particle size measured via Dynamic Light Scattering on a 0.5 wt. % dispersion.

Green body: a pre-sintered body, which is in an as-formed state made up from a powder or slurry of particles, which have been consolidated.

Cost saving benefits

Utilizing a very fine particle size also offers a cost saving in energy required to sinter the ceramics. It has been demonstrated that ceramics produced from the MELsperse materials, fully sinter at temperatures as low as 1,150˚C, a significant reduction against conventional sub-micron equivalents. A true Nano microstructure is also obtainable as demonstrated by the image.

The Nano particles of Zirconium Oxide or yttrium-stabilized Zirconium Oxide are secured in the liquid medium, alleviating any concerns about inhalation of fine particles to the operative. Using an aqueous system, MELsperse dispersions avoid the use of organic solvents and the associated environmental impacts that come with them.

News:

Casting Simulation in Elektron® Magnesium Alloys for Aerospace

As casting technology has developed over hundreds of years to create more complex and innovating parts within the aerospace and motorsport industries, the use of modern technology of casting simulation has quickly become a vital aspect of the design process when using magnesium alloys in applications.

The use of software to simulate the creations of castings can potentially help our customers optimise their working parameters, which allows leaner manufacturing time, increase yield, reduced scrap, and reduced casting defects, enabling our customers to create cleaner and sounder castings repeatedly.

Casting Simulation at Luxfer MEL Technologies

Since establishing casting simulation at Luxfer MEL Technologies, we’ve collaborated with customers around the world on over fifty individual projects. Partnering with teams on optimising our support, enabling us to correlate parameters between our simulation setup to individual real-world foundries for maximum accuracy in our work.

Here at Luxfer MEL Technologies, with the use of our own unique, internally generated datasets of Elektron®21, Elektron®RZ5 and other alloys, we pride ourselves on being able to generate highly accurate casting simulation results.

We’ve invested a considerable amount time and resource developing the datasets to be highly accurate, compared to alternative datasets in public domain. This also allows us to utilise and understand the result parameters with greater confidence.

What does the Aerospace Simulation Team at Luxfer MEL Technologies do?

The AAC simulation team at Luxfer MEL Technologies uses the powerful simulation tool, MAGMASoft to support customers throughout world in both Traditionally Poured (Gravity) and Differential Pressure Sand Casting (DPSC) systems.

Our team takes great pride in working alongside and providing unique, specialised technical support to our valued Aerospace and Automotive customers. Through the use of casting simulation of our Elektron® magnesium alloys, we strive to reach the common goal of creating the best quality product.

(Images are used with the permission of MAGMASoft: https://www.magmasoft.de/en/contact/magma-and-partners/)

Find out how we can support you today by speaking to a member of the Aerospace Team.

News:

Back to our Roots: Non-Dissolving Magnesium for Oil & Gas

Luxfer MEL Technologies has spent the last 80 years developing alloys that resist corrosion for the automotive and aerospace industries.  So why not apply that decades of research and experience to the oil and gas industry?  Luxfer has done just that.  As the world leader in the development and supply of highly functional alloys, Luxfer is introducing two non-dissolving, magnesium alloys for the oil and gas industry.

Introducing specialist magnesium alloys for oil and gas

SoluMag ND80 is a lightweight, high strength non-dissolving, corrosion resistant magnesium alloy that provides an excellent balance of strength and corrosion performance while being cost effective.  Component designs in ND80 can be 20% to 30% lighter than a corresponding aluminum design.

The properties of these non-dissolving alloys are well suited for its use as feedstock material from which to machine downhole components, and ND80 is particularly advantageous for those applications requiring elevated temperature performance. ND80 is available as extruded rods, bars, tubes, and profiles to produce components for demanding downhole environments.

Advantages & benefits

The typical applications for these alloys include machined components for downhole completion tools – particularly for the slips on a composite frac plug.  Slips made from ND80 on a composite frac plug will practically eliminate the ‘no-show’ issues commonly seen during the coiled tubing removal of composite frac plugs after the frac operation is complete.

Composite frac plugs utilizing ND80 will capitalize on the strength properties of the alloys and keep the plug anchored in place during and after the pressure pumping operation.  And these non-dissolving alloys will mill out much more efficiently and cleanly when compared to slips made from aluminum.

For downhole applications requiring strength, stability, and consistency, SoluMag ND80 are the best choices for components used in composite frac plugs as well as in other completion equipment for the oil and gas industry.

Luxfer MEL Technologies offers a wide range of non-dissolvable and dissolvable magnesium products for the oil & gas industries. We’d love to hear about your applications and discuss how our materials can offer you a solution.