Dear Sir or Madame-
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In this July 28, 2010 Publication:
Senate Leaves House Democrats "Exposed"
On Carbon Cap
Harley-Davidson Reports Increased Profits
Register for NADCA's Arc Flash Seminar!
Register Today for the Plant Management Conference
Semi-Solid Casting of Complex-Shaped Components
from High Strength Aluminum Alloy 201
Senate Leaves House Democrats "Exposed" On Carbon Cap
In a front page story, the Washington Post reports that 13 months after the House passed an energy bill that
included caps on carbon emissions, dozens of "House Democrats along the Rust Belt are not at all happy with
the way things have turned out. The White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had assured
reluctant members that the Senate would take up the measure." The absence of carbon caps in a Senate energy
bill to be introduced as soon as this week "has left some House Democrats feeling badly served by their
leaders," leaving "their aides and campaign advisers [to] privately complain that the speaker and the
president left Democrats exposed on an unpopular issue that has little hope of being signed into law."
The Washington Post, under the headline "Kerry's Lonely Push On Climate Change," discusses
how Sen. John Kerry has "failed in his latest political endeavor, pushing through a bill to combat climate
change," but he has "predicted eventual success," citing the example of Sen. Edward Kennedy on healthcare.
Democrats Press Reid For Renewable Power Standard In Energy Bill The Hill reports that "nearly half the Senate's Democrats are
pressuring Majority Leader Harry Reid to include a national renewable electricity mandate in the slimmed-down
energy bill expected on the floor this week." However, "they face an uphill battle" after Reid "argued over
the weekend that a renewables mandate won't fly in the Senate."
Harley-Davidson Reports Increased Profits
CNN (7/20) reported, "Shares of Harley-Davidson soared about 12 percent Tuesday after the
motorcycle maker posted better-than-expected earnings, boosted by a rebound in its finance unit. The
Milwaukee-based company posted a profit from continuing operations of $139.3 million, or 59 cents a share,
beating the 41 cents expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters." Additionally, the motorcycle maker's
"Retail sales fell in the quarter, but declines slowed from the prior four quarters. Operating income at
Harley's financial services unit surged to $60.8 million, compared to a loss of $90.5 million a year
earlier."
The Wall Street Journal (7/20, Matthews, Xu, subscription required) reported CEO
Keith Wandell believes that his company's shipments for the year will be down 5% to 10% from last year. The
company did note that their retail motorocycle sales were down 8.4% in the second quarter. Nevertheless,
officials also said they will open dealerships in foreign countries, including four dealerships in China.
Register for NADCA's Arc Flash Seminar!
Registration for NADCA's Arc Flash Seminar is now open. The seminar will be held September 30 at NADCA
Headquarters in Wheeling, IL. Topics include Arch Flash & OSHA, The OSHA Bottom Line for Electrical Work, and
Addressing Arc Flash Hazards without Breaking the Bank. To register or for more information, click here.
Register Today for the Plant Management Conference
Registration for this year’s Plant Management conference is now open. The conference will be held
September 22-24 in Grand Rapids, MI at the Amway Plaza Hotel. Featuring presentations on Quality and Cost
Improvement through Process Control and Crisis Management and an offsite tour to Die-Tech & Engineering.
To register or for more information please click here!
Semi-Solid Casting of Complex-Shaped Components from High Strength Aluminum Alloy 201
The majority of aluminum castings are produced from aluminum-silicon based alloys containing at least 5%
silicon, as silicon dramatically improves the fluidity, hot tear resistance and feeding characteristics of
aluminum casting alloys. In general, however, Al-Si based casting alloys have only moderate strength. Casting
alloys based on the Al-Cu system (2xx series) tend to have significantly higher strength, with alloy 201
being one of the highest strength commercial aluminum casting alloys. However, Al-Cu based alloys are
generally difficult to cast in metal molds as they are extremely prone to hot tearing. It is well-known that
semi-solid casting reduces the hot tearing tendency of aluminum casting alloys, probably as a consequence of
the dendrite (particle) coherency point being offset to a high-solid fraction. This article examines the
semi-solid casting of an extremely complex shaped casting (a turbocharger impeller) from alloy 201, and
evaluates the impact of casting parameters on the amount of hot tearing. To read more, click here to login and view this month’s issue
of Die Casting Engineer.
