Aluminium Industry in Japan

Aluminium Industry
in Japan

Lecturer’s Name

Profesor Madya Dr. Mohamed Nor Azhari Bin Azman

Our Team Members

Nurul Zulaiqah Izzati Binti Zainal (D20181082787)
Nor Fatihah Binti Muhammad (D20181082780)
Marina Binti Moula (D20181082783)
Juliati Binti Samsuddin (D20181082801)
Nur Atika Binti Mohd Yasir (D20181082779)

Table of Contents 06 Innovative technologies in
Japan’s aluminium industry
01 Introduction
07 Aluminium technologies and
02 Types of aluminium industry in future
03 Advantages and disadvantages
08 Conclusion
of aluminium 09 Mind Test

04 Major region that consume 10 References
aluminium

05 Statistic of aluminium consuming
in Japan

01

Introduction

Aluminium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol
Al and atomic number 13. It is a member of a group in the chemical element
called weak metal and has silvery and ductile properties. Aluminium is
found mainly in bauxite seeds and other rocks such as corundum, gibbsite,
boehmite, diaspore and others which are known for their oxidation resistance
and light properties. Aluminium is widely used in the automotive, marine,
aircraft and also household. Aluminium products are produced through the
process of casting and forming.

Aluminium was first introduced to Japan in 1887 as materials mostly
concentrated in the processing productions. Based on the long history of the
great effort on the alloy development, production technologies and demand
development, high quality materials and products are produced with high
efficiency. Although many of the technologies have been historically
introduced from advanced countries, a number of original and innovative
technologies have been created in Japan. The aluminium industry in Japan is
basically a complete processing business with the exclusion of smelting.
Extrusions and die-cast for transportation, automobiles, building and
information technologies have been markedly increase in Japan.

02

Types of aluminium

Pure aluminium Hindalium

Duralumin

Aluminium content is 99% or This is a famous alloy of It is an alloy of aluminium
greater but not suitable for aluminium containing 4% and magnesium with small
construction material due to its copper, 0.5% manganese, quantity of chromium. It is
low strength. Used in 0.5% magnesium and trace of manufactured as rolled
household articles, daily iron with remainder as product in 16 gauge mainly
necessities, electric appliance aluminium is known as used in manufacture
and radiators. duralumin. Due to lightweight of anodized utensils.
and high strength this alloy
may be used in automobile
industry.

Y-alloy

The addition of copper to pure aluminium improves its
strength and machinability. Y-alloy contains 93%
aluminium, 2% copper, 1% nickel and magnesium.
Since Y-alloy has better strength at elevated
temperature than duralumin therefore it is much used
in aircraft cylinder heads and piston.

Magnalium

It is produced by melting the aluminium and 2 to 10%
magnesium in a vacuum and then cooling it in
vacuum or under a pressure of 100 to 200
atmospheres. About 1.75% copper is also added to it.
Due to its light weight and good mechanical
characteristics, it is mainly used for aircraft and
automobile components.

03

Advantages and Disadvantages
of aluminium

Advantages

Odourless and Impermeable

Even with 0.007 mm thickness of aluminium foil, it is
still impermeable and doesn’t have a substance taste
or smell. This is non-toxic and often used for
packaging of the sensitive products including
pharmaceuticals and food.

Highly corrosion resistance Light Weight

Aluminium is a corrosion resistant metal that naturally With a weight of about a third that of steel, aluminium
generates a protective coating. The coating formed is is a very light yet surprisingly durable. This benefit is
extremely thin and is generated when aluminium especially useful in applications involving moving parts
comes into contact with an oxidising environment. aluminium, climbing / access aids as well as in the
This protective aluminium oxide layer helps protect the transport industry. Its lightness is also the reason why
surface of the metal from corrosion. aluminium composite panel cladding are so widely
used.

Aluminium is low-maintenance Reflectivity and Ductility

Aluminium reacts with the oxygen in the air, Another benefit of Aluminium is that it serves as a
forming a protective oxide coating that makes it good reflector. It is used in rescue blankets and
corrosion resistant. This means less maintenance light fittings because of its ability to reflect both
and replacements compared to metals like iron or light and heat.
steel. Reduced maintenance and less need for
replacements are good news for both the
environment and the overall budget of any
project.

Excellent malleability and reflectivity

Aluminium has a low melting point and density
that allows it to be processed in various ways in a
molten condition. Also, it is a good reflector of
visible light and heat which makes it an ideal
material for reflectors.

Electrical and
thermal conductivity

Aluminium conducts heat
and electricity almost
twice as good as copper,
which therefore makes it
the most commonly used
material in major power
transmission lines

Aluminium is easy to form

Aluminium is very ductile, and it easy to
process in both cold and hot condition, and
we can also create different alloys.

Recyclability

Aluminium is a 100% recyclable and during the
recycling process, it retains all of its original
properties. During production, it is more cost-
effective to use recycled metal than prime metal
out of the ground and so, during production, as
much recycled material is used as possible.

Disadvantages

Sensitive to heat

Can create a mess

Aluminium requires special processes to be
welded
It is more expensive than steel

It is abrasive to tooling, or more accurately, the
aluminium oxide coating that forms upon it is

04

Major region that consume
aluminium

Major Aluminium Consuming Region

Based on the pie chart, China is the Latin America North America
biggest consumer of aluminium. It 3% 12%
consumes almost half of the aluminium
that’s produced globally. However, this Asia & Oceania
isn’t surprising, China is the biggest 16%
consumer of most industrial commodities.
Chinese demand guided the global rally in Japan Europe
commodities. 4% 16%

Japan just consume 4% of aluminium. Africa
This difference is very significant 1%
compared to China. However, Japan is
the Asia’s top importer of aluminium and
the premiums for primary metal shipments
it agrees to pay each quarter over the
London Metal Exchange cash price set
the benchmark for the Asia region.

North America Europe China Japan Asia & Oceania Latin America
48%

China Africa

05

Statistic of Aluminium
consuming in Japan

The total demand of aluminium in japan
has been favorably growing except in
2009, a year of the world wide economical
crisis various important technologies and
production developments have been
carried out during past decades. The total
demand increases with a year the products

of aluminium sashes,electrolytic
condensor, aluminium can and thermal

converter are included.

Figure 1. The trend of the total demand from 1900 until 1990 in Japan.

Figure 2. Trend of each type of demand, rolled & extruded, casting, die-casting, forging
and others. (courtesy Japan Aluminium Association)

Figure 3. Consumption volume of high-grade aluminum metal in Japan from 2012 to 2019

06

Innovative technologies in
Japan’s aluminium industry

Alumite (anodizing) Development of Extra-Super Aluminium sashes
Duralumin

Beverages cans and Aluminium electric
packaging condenser foils

Aluminium memory disc Automobiles

Alumite (anodizing)

 Alumite is an anodic coating film formed on the surface of the aluminium and its alloys by
the electrolytic process.

 This process was first invented and developed by the research group (Dr. Syoji Sedo) at
RIKEN 1929.

 This process is now called as anodizing and widely applied to many metal and alloys
 Alumite useful for aluminium to increase corrosion resistance and wear resistance
 The surface function has been also dramatically increased by this method.

Development of Extra-Super Duralumin (ESD)

 Sumitomo Light Metal Industries one of the Japanese
provate companies developed new Extra-Super
Duralumin (ESD) alloys with extremely high strength.

 These alloys were developed with the strong demand
for aircraft structural materials and also efficient
collaboration in the research group.

 Higher strength aluminium alloys than the Alcoa Super
Duralumin was highly requested to improve the
performance of the aircraft.

 The successful development of the new alloys
accelerated the rapid increase of demand on
aluminium.

Aluminium sashes

 In Japan, aluminium sashes were first used for buildings in
1952 and for houses in the end of 1950.

 The aluminium sashes for Japanese houses were attractive
because of the comfortableness, durability, safety and
energy saving

 The aluminium curtain wall also widely applied to the
outside of high-rise buildings

 Concerning th eproduction technologies, the melt treatment
to reduce hydrogen gas, the DC casting technologies for
the grain refinement and reuced segregation, the die
designing for the improved extrusion and surface treatment
technologies have been developed.

Beverages cans and packaging

 Aluminium beverages can were first developed by Keiser in USA in 1958. In Japan, the production was
started for especially beer in 1971

 The required properties for aluminium cans were ranged widely. These requirements have been
overcome through technologies.

 The 3004 and 3104 Al-Mn alloys with work-hardened are used for the body material. On the other hand,
the 5182 Al-Mg alloys is used for the can end materials.

 To achieve the requirement alloys composition and size and distribution of intermetallic compounds are
carefully controlled

 The requirements for the higher strength material together with formation technologies are given to
engineers

Aluminium memory disc  The market share of Japan is very high in the
Aluminium condensor foils world due to the high quality which meets the
demand of the memory disc.

 The higher storage density of the memory disc
is strongly requested together with the flatness
and quality of the disc surface.

 The 5086 Al-Mg based alloy is used as the disc
materials.

 To meet the demand for the higher storage
density and cost reduction continuous efforts
are made

 A number of electric condensers are produced
and used for the electric components in the
electronic circuits.

 The characteristic properties are required for the
electric condenser, i,e., etching properties, the
fraction of the cubic orientation, electrostatic
capacity, the influence of microalloying elements.

 In the industrial production, purification, melt-
casting, homogenization, rolling and heat

treatment technologies are extremely important.

Automobiles

 The application of aluminium alloys to automobile
bodies was for the conveyance vehicles such as a van
and a wing body car.

 Aluminium Wheels were also produced and rapidly
increased because of the fashionable appearance
together with the light weight

 Many die-castings are used for automobiles due to the
superior productivity,high accuracy of dimensions and
high strength.

 In Japan, aluminium alloys were first used to monorail in
1962. Since then railway vehicles of aluminium alloys
increase in number including the Shinkansen ( The
Bullet Train).

07

Aluminium technologies and
industries in future

Road-maps are established for the future aluminium under
cooperation between Japan Institute of Light Metals (JILM) and Japan
Aluminium Association (JAA). The user companies such as
automobiles, transportations, constructions are collaborated to
establish the road-maps. The road-maps are for the fundamental
researches and for the processing and product technologies. The
concept to decrease the cost by alloy designing with low cost
elements, innovative production technologies and highly efficient
recycling is included. To find new demands on aluminium in the
automobile, transportation, construction industries is also targeted. An
innovative way is to be found for future by putting heads together,
“Out of counsel of three comes wisdom”.

08

Conclusion

Based on the long history of the great effort on the alloy
development, production technologies and demand development,
high quality materials and products are produced with high
efficiency. The historical trend of aluminium production
technologies and development are hereafter introduced. The
aluminium industry in Japan is basically a complete processing
business with the exclusion of smelting. There are many
Innovative technology in Japan’s aluminium industry. Alloys were
developed with the strong demand for aircraft structural materials
and also efficient collaboration in the research group. The
successful development of the new alloys accelerated the rapid
increase of demand on aluminium. Concerning the production
technologies, the melt treatment to reduce hydrogen gas, the DC
casting technologies for the grain refinement and reduced
segregation, the die designing for the improved extrusion and
surface treatment technologies have been developed. The
squeeze die-casting, semi-solid die-casting, high vacuum die-
casting have been developed to produce high quality automobile
components.

09

Mind Test

1) Aluminium was first introduced to Japan in _____ as 5) This process was first invented and developed by
material mostly concentrated in the the research group (Dr.Syoji Sedo) at riken 1929.
_____________________ This process called______________________

2) State five (5) types of aluminium 6) ______________________________ one of the
i. _____________________ Japanese private companies developed new
ii. _____________________ Extra-Super Duralumin (ESD) alloys with
iii. _____________________ extremely high strength.
iv. _____________________
v. _____________________ 7) The aluminium sashes for Japanese houses were
attractive because of the ________________ ,
3) List down three (3) advantages of aluminium ________, ________ and ________________ .
i. _____________________
ii. _____________________ 8) What are the characteristics required for the
iii. _____________________ electric condenser?
iv. _____________________ ________________________________________
v. _____________________ ______________________________________
_______________________________________
4) List down three (3) disadvantages of aluminium
i. _____________________ 9) The application of aluminium alloys to automobile
ii. _____________________ bodies was for the conveyance vehicles such as
iii. _____________________ __________ and ______________________ .
iv. _____________________
v. _____________________ 10) What is the next challenge for aluminium in Japan?
___________________

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