Metalfoam.net - Newsletter No. 3 ================================ 1) Company focus: Interview with Paul Ramsey from Cymat Corp. 2) 2nd International Conference on Metal Foams 2001 ---- 1) I had the opportunity to speak with Paul Ramsey from Cymat about the current status of aluminium foam production. Here are some of his statements: * Cymat has significantly improved the production process. Aluminium foams now have a more uniform pore structure than before * we can now produce panels as thin as 1/2" (12.6 mm) with a closed skin on both sides. Previously, only thicker panels could be made and smaller dimensions required cutting, thus removing the skin. Widths upt to 48" (120 cm) are achievable, while lenghts can range up to 50ft (17 m) * 17% density has been established as "standard density", although variations from 3% to 20% are possible * we can produce up to 1000 kg of foam per hour * it is now possible to fill extrusions with aluminium foam. In this case foam densities are around 20% * Cymat can now foam more ductile alloys such as AA6061 reinforced with alumina instead of with silicon carbide (which is the traditional viscosity increasing substance). This work is still ongoing. We believe that the application range of our materials will be extended if we are able to offer a wider range of materials. Good news for our web-page: Cymat is a sponsor of "metalfoam.net" now. Please visit http://www.cymat.com especially in 2001 when the page will be newly designed. 2) The call for papers for MetFoam 2001 (18-20 June 2001 in Bremen) has revealed how much the research area has expanded since 1999 when the first conference of this type took place. Although the deadline for abstract submission has not been reached yet, almost 50 abstracts have arrived. The abstracts will be reviewed in a first round next week. However, because repeatedly potential contributors have asked for an extension of the deadline, the programme committee will not finalise the conference programme before the second week of January 2001. High quality abstracts which are sent to the chairmen before January 9 can therefore also be considered. Please check http://www.metalfoam.net/metfoam.html for conference information. -------------- This was today's news. If you have any interesting news for newsletter #4, please mail to: admin@metalfoam.net (John Banhart) -------------- If you do NOT like to receive further newsletters or have received more than one copy, please mail to admin@metalfoam.net and write "cancel newsletter" or "received n copies". -------------- 14 December 2000 / J. Banhart