Increasing yield during the manufacture of semi-finished extruded products

This paper reviews work presently being undertaken in an attempt to increase the yield figures of a major extruder. The manufacturing process is concerned with the process that converts raw materials into semi-finished products and the support functions associated in fulfilling that task. The examination allows the determination of yield figures. The paper then goes on to report the application of a Pareto analysis to identify those alloys and production routes that resulted in low overall yields. With the low yield manufacturing routes identified the mechanisms of enhancing the yields and their success are considered and tested.