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David Sear
David Sear
KCI Publishing

Most recent articles

Economical solution to producing prismatic & rotational components
By David Sear | 10 August 2020
A medical spin-off from the University of Limerick uses a 5-axis Hermle VMC for all its machining requirements.
INOX develops antimicrobial coating for stainless steel door hardware
By David Sear | 03 August 2020
INOX, an engineering company that designs and manufactures decorative hardware and door locks, is now producing an antimicrobial coating for its line of stainless steel products. The range includes commercial and residential door levers and pulls, deadbolts, panic devices, and push/pull plates.
Cheaper, small-scale fertilizer production
By David Sear | 27 July 2020
Most of the world’s fertilizer is produced in large manufacturing plants, which require huge amounts of energy to combine nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia. MIT chemical engineers are working to develop a smaller-scale alternative which could be used to locally produce fertilizer for farmers in remote areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa.
Asia dominates nickel data for 2019
By David Sear | 20 July 2020
WBMS has nickel production, trade and use data for calendar 2019 which has been compared with 2018. Without doubt China and Indonesia are the countries to watch.
A world of opportunities
By David Sear | 13 July 2020
In an informal interview, Principle Machinery Engineer Jillian Toussaint discusses her work with steam turbines, explains why digitalization will be increasingly important and – almost in passing– reveals exactly why engineering really should be every school-leaver’s first choice of profession.
It’s time for organic energy
By David Sear | 06 July 2020
Around the globe, governments, organisations and corporations are seeking ways to reduce carbon emissions, step away from their dependence on fossil fuels and at the same time ensure a reliable, sustainable energy mix. There surely has never been a better time to embrace biomethane plants – the very epitome of a sustainable, circular economy, says Wolfgang Bokern, Head of Plant Construction at WELTEC BIOPOWER.
Putting fabrication on the fast-track
By David Sear | 29 June 2020
Suppose you need a custom-built stainless steel tank for your process, and have specific requirements as regards inlet ports, internal heating coils, agitators, etc. How long would that take to have that built? Weeks, months? Well, one Belgian company has developed a fast-track approach with delivery times that might surprise you.
Coral Greenhouse: artwork with a message
By David Sear | 22 June 2020
Situated on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, off the shore of Townsville, North Queensland, the Museum of Underwater Art (MUOA) is turning into a globally-significant attraction, thanks to works of art like the Ocean Siren and the Coral Greenhouse from renowned underwater sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor.
Rosatom ships superheaters to the UK
By David Sear | 15 June 2020
Like many major cities around the world, London is keen to ensure that all its waste is properly disposed of. The Riverside Energy-from-Waste plant, first put into operation in 2010, is an important component in the city’s waste management system, as it contributes to both waste management and energy generation infrastructure needs. Coming right up to date, a Russian company has just manufactured a second lot of equipment for this facility.
AM transition pieces for dissimilar welds?
By David Sear | 08 June 2020
There are a number of industrial applications that use transitions between dissimilar metals where joining is of the utmost importance. These applications include those within the power industry where inadequate joining strategies, processes, or manufacturing methods can cause failures or degradation, in turn leading to plant outages and repair costs.
ISSF-24 webinars: a superb initiative!
By David Sear | 08 June 2020
Due to the COVID-19 virus and the measures necessary to delay its spreading, the ISSF-24 conference which Events Calendar was to have taken place in Brussels on 14 and 15 May was replaced with two web meetings. SSWN sat in on the first webinar, an open panel session on sustainability featuring three excellent speakers and prompting plenty of questions.
Stainless adds extra 50 years to columns and bridges
By David Sear | 01 June 2020
The 3,500 columns of the vital pipe network on the Chemelot site are over 50 years old and require annual maintenance. The outdoor climate and the environment lead to corrosion of the reinforcement in the concrete structures, which may reduce their strength. Peter Brabers, Senior Project Manager and consultant at Sitech Services, devised a unique solution to extend their service life by 50 years.
Indonesia: disruptive force in stainless steel
By David Sear | 25 May 2020
For the stainless steel industry, Indonesia is what strategic planners would call a disruptive force. In short, the country has endeavoured to ban exports of nickel ore. After being relaxed the ban was re-imposed in January this year, with the country striving to have ‘added value’ processes on this raw material performed in Indonesia rather than elsewhere.
Stainless steel parts from a USD 600 3D printer
By David Sear | 18 May 2020
In the USA, Somerset Community College’s (SCC) Additive Manufacturing (AM) program has successfully produced stainless steel parts using a USD 600 desktop 3D printer. SCC has also Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welded several of these parts together.
The beauty of stainless
By David Sear | 11 May 2020
SSWN recently received two striking case histories from France showing the practicality and sheer beauty of using stainless steels in buildings.
BUTTING: permanent marking for pipes
By David Sear | 04 May 2020
Product traceability is an essential quality criterion. This also applies to longitudinally welded stainless steel pipes. With this in mind, BUTTING has optimised its manufacturing process for pipes from coil. In future, pipes produced from coil will be marked using a new procedure. This offers the customer one crucial advantage: the marking is permanently easy to read.
China: stainless steel trade data for 2019
By David Sear | 27 April 2020
World Bureau of Metals Statistics (WBMS) has received and processed China’s stainless trade data for the calendar year 2019. The four charts summarise trade by shape and country. Full data by all countries and detailed shapes are available from WBMS on a monthly basis.
Global molybdenum production rises as use falls in Q3
By David Sear | 20 April 2020
Figures released by the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA) show that global production of molybdenum rose while usage fell in the third quarter of 2019 when compared to the second quarter of the same year.
Sandvik solutions in a container
By David Sear | 13 April 2020
Sandvik Materials Technology has developed a mobile container that goes where customers go, reducing waste, increasing safety and bringing both time and cost savings along for the ride.
A Serimax success in Nigerian water
By David Sear | 06 April 2020
Vallourec has sent congratulations to the Serimax teams for successfully completing the IDOHO project with Subsea 7 and Exxon Mobil. The IDOHO field is located offshore Nigeria, in the bight of Bonny (Akwa Ibom State), at approximately 2 miles from shore and south of the onshore QIT (Qua Iboe Terminal) with a water depth of approximatively 57 feet.
Stainless Steel World Japan 2020
By David Sear | 29 March 2020
The Stainless Steel World Conference has long established itself as the premier international forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the manufacture and application of stainless steels. On June 8th - 9th 2020, for the first time ever, the event will focus on the stainless markets and industries of Japan as well as other Asian countries with a bi-lingual conference and international exhibition to be held in Miraikan, Tokyo, Japan.
Trade data for chrome ore and ferrochrome
By David Sear | 22 March 2020
Chrome is a major alloying element for stainless steel and for super-alloys for gas turbines and alloy 600 and 800 series for process industries. World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) has comprehensive statistics for chrome production, trade and use by country for the period to January to September 2019. This month’s Stats Corner focuses on trade in chrome ore, the mined product, and ferrochrome, the smelted product used by stainless producers.
Gpi Tanks XL for stainless tanks <15,000m3
By David Sear | 15 March 2020
In 2020, the Gpi Group launched Gpi Tanks XL, a new operating company specialising in the sale and production of stainless steel storage tanks which are larger than 6 metres in diameter or have a capacity of 500 cubic metres or more. Production takes places at its state-of-the-art production plant in Groot-Ammers, The Netherlands, or on location at the customer’s site.
Babcock Wanson produces world’s first 1MW gas fired supercritical water heater
By David Sear | 08 March 2020
Babcock Wanson has produced a bespoke TPC SW 1MW gas fired Supercritical Water Heater, which operates at 275 bar pressure and reaches a temperature of 490°, for Promethean Particles as part of its nanoparticle production process.
Meet the world's largest additively manufactured titanium rocket
By David Sear | 24 February 2020
Titomic Limited Australian digital manufacturing solutions company has announced that it unveiled the world’s largest additive manufactured titanium part, a 5.5 meter long rocket at FormNext, the world’s premier 3D Printing trade show.
Stainless steel: slab production and trade
By David Sear | 17 February 2020
The World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) has published stainless steel statistics for the period January to September 2019. The summaries below relate to slab production and stainless steel trade.
Join the conversation at Duplex World Seminar & Summit 2020!
By David Sear | 03 February 2020
Join the worlds’ premier duplex stainless steel event in Düsseldorf, Germany, 13 & 14 October 2020! Network with the leading minds driving ahead innovation and excellence in the field of materials science and explore the many possibilities for networking while sharing knowledge and expertise.
Join SSW Middle East Exhibition 2020 and plan for growth in Oman
By David Sear | 03 February 2020
Oman is a rapidly growing market for manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of stainless steels. A brand-new event being organized by Stainless Steel World is the perfect platform to establish or expand your business in the region and benefit from the huge demand for stainless materials in the years ahead.
Nickel: production, use, exports and imports
By David Sear | 27 January 2020
Nickel is a hot topic at the moment because the next generation of batteries for electric vehicles is likely to have a higher nickel and lower cobalt content. This is good news in that the supply of cobalt is rather price inelastic but the plentiful supply of nickel oxide ore means this is not an issue for nickel. WBMS’s Peter Cranfield digs into the data.
DMP of nickel alloys could save maintenance dollars
By David Sear | 20 January 2020
America Makes and Department of Defense have selected 3D Systems to help reduce part corrosion, which could potentially significantly reduce maintenance costs.
Airbus 3D printing utilises cutting edge saw technology
By Joanne McIntyre | 08 January 2020
To save time and costs during the production of aircraft components, Airbus Helicopters, headquartered in Donauwörth in Bavaria, recently turned to additive manufacturing. After manufacturing titanium components in the 3D printer, the next step is to separate them from their baseplate. The company uses a fully automatic bandsaw specially designed for use in the world of generative manufacturing.
ABB: boosting productivity in the metals industry
By David Sear | 16 December 2019
ABB Ability™ Asset Vista Condition Monitoring for metals offers complete, continuous visibility of assets’ health, using plant data to predict maintenance needs
China: stainless steel imports and exports
By David Sear | 09 December 2019
World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) now has China’s trade data up to July 2019 and has highlighted the main trends in the four charts below. As usual this compares the latest year-to-date results with the same period last year. For those who need monthly data in a high level of detail, current and historical time series, this is available from the WBMS stainless database service.
Business cards for the bold
By David Sear | 02 December 2019
Business cards serve as a physical reminder of the cardholder long after the initial introduction, and in a world of digital communication and social networks, the tangibility of a business card is more important than ever. Stylish, durable, and highly memorable, metal business cards have become popular with those who want to stand out from the paper-based competition. The metal of choice? Stainless steel, prized for its aesthetic qualities, widespread availability, and ease of customization.
Molybdenum: key alloying element for stainless
By David Sear | 25 November 2019
WBMS Consultant Peter Cranfield writes a regular ‘Stats Corner’ column for SSWN, in which he explores and explains the data behind the stainless steel industry. For November, he turned his attention to the import and export of roasted molybdenum ores as well as ferromolybdenum.
Breakthrough technology for measuring carbon in CRAs
By David Sear | 11 November 2019
The era of measuring carbon content and other alloying elements in stainless steels and other corrosion-resistant alloys with a handheld analyzer has arrived, according to SciAps’ Don Sackett.
Coralarium
By David Sear | 08 November 2019
In 2018, artist and environmental sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor completed one of his most remarkable works: Coralarium. The installation is situated in a large coral lagoon in the Maldives. To reach this extraordinary structure visitors must snorkel or swim around 500 ft (150 m) following an underwater coral pavement that is sea-scaped with planted corals.
Network and learn at SSW2019
By David Sear | 29 October 2019
Bringing together corrosion and materials professionals from the global market place in one place at one time, the Stainless Steel World Conference & Exhibition 2019 provides an excellent opportunity for networking and learning.
China: imports of key raw materials for stainless
By David Sear | 15 October 2019
The World Bureau of Metals Statistics (WBMS) has just published China trade for the first half of 2019. In this edition of stats corner we are looking at the results for two of the most important raw materials for stainless – chrome and nickel. It is traditional for the chrome industry to talk in volume terms of gross weight for ore and ferroalloy. So we adhere to that and the stats are gross weight.
Sandvik opens coiled tubing line in China
By David Sear | 01 October 2019
Sandvik has opened a state-of-the-art coiled tubing line for premium grades of seamless stainless steel products in smaller dimensions at its Zhenjiang tube mill near Shanghai, China. The commitment to produce longer lengths of weld-free coiled tubing locally will enable customers in the Asia Pacific region to receive deliveries within 28 days, instead of waiting four to six months for longer length reels to arrive from abroad.
Transition to renewables doesn’t rule out interest in offshore O&G
By David Sear | 17 September 2019
Renewed urgency over global warming, combined with faster than expected growth in the renewable energy sector, is forcing the oil and gas giants to rethink their goals and strategy. This transition is far from easy, and for the time being, most companies remain very active in on- and - especially - offshore exploration and exploitation, as James Chater reveals in this abridged article.
Stainless steel in architecture
By David Sear | 03 September 2019
The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) has published the sixth edition of their architectural bro-chures, entitled ‘Stainless Steel in Architectural Applications’.
Nickel Institute China Event 2019
By David Sear | 20 August 2019
On July 4, the Nickel Institute (NI) successfully held a “China Nickel Shareholder Group Workshop 2019” in Shanghai. More than 60 representatives from domestic and foreign government agencies, industry associations, and units that are related to the production, study, research and use of nickel attended the conference. Under the theme of Nickel Promotes Low Carbon Economy, the conference provided professional, abundant and brilliant keynote speeches and Q&A communication activities.
Stainless steel statistics: imports and use
By David Sear | 07 August 2019
World Bureau of Metals Statistics (WBMS) has just published the 2019 edition of ‘Annual Stainless Steel Statistics’, which has appeared annually since the 1980s. This month’s ‘Stats Corner’ presents just some of the many charts that cover imports and use.
Space-bound: titanium pressure vessel built using WAAM
By David Sear | 01 July 2019
A team comprising of Thales Alenia Space, Cranfield University and Glenalmond Technologies have successfully produced a first full-scale prototype of a titanium pressure vessel to be used in future manned missions for space exploration.
Stainless steel statistics: production and exports
By David Sear | 17 June 2019
World Bureau of Metals Statistics (WBMS) has just published the 2019 edition of its ‘Annual Stainless Steel Statistics’, which has appeared since the 1980s. This month’s ‘Stats Corner’ reveals a very small selection of the charts on production and exports, whilst the next issue will cover imports and use.
AM guidelines at second round of testing & review
By David Sear | 04 June 2019
At Duplex World 2018, Harsharn Tathgar presented on DNV GL’s collaborative efforts to develop requirements for additive manufactured (AM) components in oil & gas and other related applications. As their joint industry project on AM requirements continues, SSWN’s Daniel Sweet spoke with Dr. Harsharn for an update before the completed guidelines are delivered.
Indonesia: production and export leap in 2018
By David Sear | 30 April 2019
The World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) now has extensive 2018 trade data for stainless steel. In that year WBMS estimates that Indonesia produced 2.2 Mt of stainless slabs or 4% of global production. Compared to 0.6 Mt in 2017 this represents a near four-times increase: an important consideration as production is expected to continue to increase strongly. And as mentioned in a previous ‘stats corner’, production in Indonesia tends to be ‘low cost’.
How stainless supports communications
By David Sear | 15 April 2019
Stainless steel lashing wire plays an important part in telecommunication. It keeps aerial cables firmly in place and reduces the risk of cable breaks and service interruptions. Molybdenum-containing stainless steel lashing wire is used particularly in coastal areas to avoid premature corrosion failure of this essential support structure…
No 1 AOD converter start-up at Outokumpu Tornio works
By David Sear | 08 April 2019
The project involved fitting the converter with a new tilting drive, trunnion ring and other associated equipment, including the electrical installations and automation. The Vaicon Drive Damper system developed by Primetals Technologies was also installed on the tilting drive. It reduces the vibrations produced by the blowing processes and thus the mechanical loads acting on the entire system from the converter down to the foundations. The patented system reduces wear and maintenance costs while
Scrap is a valuable raw material for stainless
By David Sear | 11 March 2019
It is said that virtually all the gold ever produced is still in existence. It is a valuable metal that does not degrade. The same should be said of stainless. It is a valuable resource that does not degrade with time. Of course some does go to landfill, but more is being recovered at end of life and long may this continue.
Plastics ban to boost stainless?
By Joanne McIntyre | 28 February 2019
In October 2018 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) voted to ban single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds, which make up 70% of marine litter. The move creates many opportunities for the stainless steel industry.
‘HFree’ - Hydrofluoric acid free pickling
By Roy van IJzendoorn | 26 September 2017
A new pickling process which does not require the use of hydrofluoric acid has been developed as part of a project funded by the EU through the LIFE programme (project code: 13 ENV/IT/000440). The process is beneficial in terms of both the environment and energy consumption. This article analyses the characteristics of the wastewater treatment process deriving from the new pickling process which eliminates once and for all the presence of hydrofluoric acid in the base solution.

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