recycling aluminum

[pyroracing85]

How do they do it? I was always interested in how they recycle it and get the round stock and blocks like they do?

-garrett

[DSL PWR]

Melt the scrap down into ingots, and form the same way they form virgin aluminium.

[pyroracing85]

how do you melt it down? What do I have to buy? then how do I form it?

[broken003]

http://www.host33.com/casting/

[jhowelb]

Originally Posted by pyroracing85 how do you melt it down? What do I have to buy? then how do I form it?

You need to shop for some books by Dave Gingery (gengery??) How to books on; home made furnaces for melting scrap aluminum, green sand casting, building metal lathes and milling machines from that scrap.

[pyroracing85]

Originally Posted by jhowelb You need to shop for some books by Dave Gingery (gengery??) How to books on; home made furnaces for melting scrap aluminum, green sand casting, building metal lathes and milling machines from that scrap.

is there any companies that makes these furnaces and not home made?

[jhowelb]

There very well may be, however, it's so easy to get started. example: I welded tohether a cube (just the edges) from angle iron and fitted the floor and walls with fire brick. (available at a masonry supply) and then a matching sized picture frame for a lid also fitting the brick in that. I cut a vent hole in the top and one side with a hole saw.
Then used propane weed burner to supply heat. A cast iron "lead pot" made a cruciable.
NOW! Go buy the books to get a good grounding in safety proceedures and an understanding of the dangers involved. Molten aluminum os HOT! AND must be handled with caution, to say nothing of the fumes created!! Good luck, have fun....BUT.....BE CAREFULL!

[pyroracing85]

Originally Posted by jhowelb There very well may be, however, it's so easy to get started. example: I welded tohether a cube (just the edges) from angle iron and fitted the floor and walls with fire brick. (available at a masonry supply) and then a matching sized picture frame for a lid also fitting the brick in that. I cut a vent hole in the top and one side with a hole saw. Then used propane weed burner to supply heat. A cast iron "lead pot" made a cruciable. NOW! Go buy the books to get a good grounding in safety proceedures and an understanding of the dangers involved. Molten aluminum os HOT! AND must be handled with caution, to say nothing of the fumes created!! Good luck, have fun....BUT.....BE CAREFULL!

thanks but I rather just buy an oven

[HuFlungDung]

The quality of the aluminum when remelted and recast may be a surprise for you, and maybe not a pleasant surprise. Without controlled atmosphere, and so forth, extra alloys are often added to sand castings which help the flux and flow of the metal.

The nice stuff we typically use for cnc machining is electrodeposited, I believe, but I could be mistaken. This is why power stations are built for aluminum smelters.

[pyroracing85]

Originally Posted by HuFlungDung The quality of the aluminum when remelted and recast may be a surprise for you, and maybe not a pleasant surprise. Without controlled atmosphere, and so forth, extra alloys are often added to sand castings which help the flux and flow of the metal. The nice stuff we typically use for cnc machining is electrodeposited, I believe, but I could be mistaken. This is why power stations are built for aluminum smelters.

I kinda get what your sayiing. So I would need a controlled atmosphere to melt it down without getting the extra alloys?

Also I heard about smelting from alcoa. What exactly is it?

-garrett

[ESjaavik]

Originally Posted by pyroracing85 I kinda get what your sayiing. So I would need a controlled atmosphere to melt it down without getting the extra alloys? -garrett

No. You can recycle old castings. Don't user other aluminum. Don't let melted aluminum come in contact with iron! (So a steel melting pot is no good). To get good fluidity and avoid porosity use degassing briquets. Not Tetrachlorethane, the ones used now are much less harmful.

Don't let aluminum "stew" in the furnace. Melt, degas, skim and pour as soon as you get up to casting temperature.

Old automobile heads and pistons are fine. Try not to mix them, the outcome is unknown if you mix different aluminums.

[jhowelb]

In my furnace there are two holes the same size, about 3" diameter, one at the bottom on one side for the burner and the other in the top a a chiminey. By controling the thru flow you can make sure that all the oxygen is burned by the torch. Very little oxidation of your metal. I use parts from old lawn mower engines and the like so the alloy is tough!

There will be some inclusions and bubbles, but if you have ever worked in industry, especially with cast iron castings, you know that this isn't unusual. As a "home brew" casting the quality of appearance won't be "factory" but then neither is the price.

I have built working metal lathes (9x24), milling machines and surface grinders. All looked at least as good as some of the home brew machines shown on this site.

Check out some of the books on this web page, especially the one on the charcoal foundery. http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/

The gasses produced are deadly so make sure you are outside with good ventilation, Stay up wind as much as you can and remember ................molten metal is HOT!!!