Borings and turnings are the chips and swarf produced when aluminium castings, bars and extrusions are machined. Under ISRI codes, Teens covers segregated aluminium borings and turnings of a single alloy, and Telic covers mixed, clean aluminium borings and turnings. They usually carry cutting oil or coolant and can pick up iron chips and fines from shared machines.
Why it matters when buying
- Chips have a very high surface area, so they oxidise readily and recovery is lower than for solids unless they are dried, de-oiled or briquetted first.
- Oil and water are both a yield loss and a safety hazard in molten metal; agree maximum moisture / oil content.
- Iron fines and mixed alloys are the main contamination; magnetic separation helps.
- Single-alloy turnings from one machine shop are worth more because their chemistry is known.
Typical uses
Turnings are remelted, often in rotary or side-well furnaces, into casting alloys or deoxidiser products. Briquetting improves handling and yield. Compare with solid extrusion scrap. Sell through aluminium scrap.