Smart factories are bringing AI, IoT and Big Data to the manufacturing industry.

#1 How Smart Factories are Changing the Manufacturing Industry

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing AI, IoT and other automated technologies into people’s lives and changing the way they live and interact with one another. It is also bringing about change in the manufacturing industry as more companies embrace smart factories to further enhance efficiency, performance and safety. Take a deeper look at how smart factories are reinventing the manufacturing industry.

SEE ALSO: How Factories Produce Steel- the Smart Way

POSCO GIGA STEEL also offers electric vehicle manufacturers a lightweight material solution.

#2 POSCO GIGA STEEL Increases Strength, Improves Safety in Autos

This year, POSCO GIGA STEEL set a new, industry standard for strength and formability for auto steel. The advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) is an automaker’s dream come true as it falls into the strongest category of steel commercially available today. Plus, its lightweight property makes it the perfect solution for manufacturers trying to design safe, high-performing and sustainable vehicles.

SEE ALSO: Ask an Expert: Has Steel Achieved Its Peak in Lightweighting?

Lithium-ion batteries are found in some of the most popular devices available today. (Source: BGR)

#3 POSCO’s Innovation Shapes the Ever-Growing Lithium Market

POSCO is the world’s 5th largest steel producer, but it’s got more up its sleeves than just steel. This year, POSCO developed game-changing technology that extracts lithium from water in just 8 hours to one month. Traditionally the task takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months. To add, the new technology can achieve a purity rate of 99.9 percent and increases the lithium recovery rate to over 80 percent.

Lithium is a central component in rechargeable batteries for electronics such as smartphones, laptops and most importantly, electric vehicles (EVs). Heading into 2018, POSCO is well-positioned to be an industry leader in a rapidly-growing market for EV batteries.

SEE ALSO: The Fuel of Tomorrow: Mining Lithium for Tomorrow’s Cars

POSCO CEO Kwon Ohjoon fires up Pohang Blast Furnace No.3

#4 POSCO Gets “Smart” with Pohang Blast Furnace No.3

In June, one of POSCO’s oldest and the world’s 5th largest blast furnace got a makeover with some added AI. After undergoing 102 days of repairs, Pohang Blast Furnace No.3 came back much bigger with an expanded furnace volume of 5600㎥, compared to its original volume of 3795㎥ from its beginnings in 1978. Plus, Pohang Blast Furnace No.3 now has smart sensors to monitor operations and detect malfunctions or accidents before they happen.

SEE ALSO: How to Make Steel with an Old(ie but Goodie) Blast Furnace

Ajay Telrandhe in Quality Assurance and Manish Kochar & Chetan Waghchoure in Sales talk to the Steel Wire.

#5 Ask an Expert: POSCO Leads India’s Growing Automotive Steel Market

POSCO Maharashtra is POSCO’s leading subsidiary. Three of their employees gave the Steel Wire an insider’s look into the company’s success, despite a challenging market environment and government restrictions. The team in India implemented positive changes in the company’s steel quality, production processes and customer service to become a leading solution-provider for their automotive partners.

SEE ALSO: Revving Up for Growth: India’s Automotive Market is In Full Gear

EVs, autonomous vehicles and shared mobility will drastically change the auto industry. (Source: Electrek)

#6 Ask an Expert: Electric Vehicles and the Future of the Automotive Market

Stephen Zoepf, executive director at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University, was the first speaker at POSCO’s 2017 Global EV Materials Forum. Zoepf shared his vision of what the future automotive market will look like and its implications for car manufacturers, suppliers and drivers. According to research, 60 percent of the cars in the U.S. will be running on electric batteries by 2030, and those cars will mostly be part of a shared mobility service. Traditional ways of car production, distribution and consumption will undergo massive change and companies will have to find ways to stay competitive in the new market dynamics.

SEE ALSO: The Forgotten Fleet: Looking Back on Early Electric Vehicles for a Better Future

Steel dresses from Naim Josefi’s 2017 F/W GANGS collection. (Source: Naim Josefi)

#7 Ask an Expert: Fashion Forward with Steel

Fashion designer Naim Josefi opened new possibilities for steel application with his 2017 F/W GANGS collection which included dresses made of elaborate steel sequins and laser-printed jeans. He is also known for his 3D-printed high heels that provide the perfect fit. The artist has a passion for fusing technology into his work and finding more sustainable ways to create beautiful clothes and says he will continue to use steel as a high-tech, fashion material.

Heading into a new year in 2018, the Steel Wire promises to be the best source of steel industry news and continue to provide exclusive, insightful and interesting stories.

Marco Rosignoli – Bridge Building Expert

Marco Rosignoli has more than 20 years of experience in bridge construction and design. (Source: San Francisco Public Press)

Marco Rosignoli is an expert in bridge design, construction, forensic engineering, consulting and education, with over 37 years of experience in 21 countries. Through a two-part series, Rosignoli gave readers an in-depth look into emerging megacities and their infrastructure needs. According to Rosignoli, efficient transportation is the key to an economically competitive city, and megacities will call for mega-sized bridges made of high-quality steel. Read on to find out more.

Part one: Ask an Expert: Building Bridges for Megacities

Part two: Ask an Expert: Building Bridges for Megacities – Part 2

Naim Josefi – Fashion Designer

Naim Josefi is an innovative designer who mixes fashion and technology. (Source: Naim Josefi)

Naim Josefi runs a fashion company based in Stockholm, Sweden, and is widely known for winning Project Runway Sweden back in 2012. Josefi is a fashion designer who is blurring the boundaries between science and fashion as his projects include steel dresses, 3D printed shoes and laser-printed jeans. Find out why the designer chooses to work with steel and incorporate new technologies into his art.

Read on: Ask an Expert: Fashion Forward with Steel

Professor Bill Arnold – Oil Industry Expert

Bill Arnold is a professor in the practice of energy management at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. Previously, Professor Arnold was Royal Dutch Shell’s Washington director of international government relations and senior counsel for the Middle East, Latin America and North Africa for 16 years.

Bill Arnold is an Energy Management Professor at Rice University. (Source: Society of Petroleum Engineers)

Professor Arnold gave readers an insider’s analysis of the rapidly-changing oil industry marked by unpredictable oil prices. He says, in the midst of change, there are newly-developing business opportunities and alternative sources of fuel such as natural gas that will subsequently create more demand for high-quality steel.   

Find out more: Ask an Expert: The Role of Steel in a Changing Oil Industry

Park Jong-jae – Automotive Columnist

Park Jong-jae is a motorsports columnist and the former editor-in-chief at F1 Racing Korea. Back in May, Park contributed a two-part series on POSCO GIGA STEEL. In the first part, Park reinforced the need for lightweight materials in the auto industry and highlighted some of the most successful cases of POSCO GIGA STEEL application from POSCO’s partners including GM Korea and Ssangyong Motors.

2016 Chevy Cruze Body Structure with POSCO GIGA STEEL. (Source: World Auto Steel)

Read more: Ask an Expert: POSCO GIGA STEEL Opens Door to the Future of the Auto Industry

In part two, he took readers through the 6 different types of POSCO GIGA STEEL and how they can benefit different parts of a vehicle.

There are 6 types of POSCO GIGA STEEL. (Source: Astro Awani)

Find more information: Ask an Expert: POSCO GIGA STEEL Goes Beyond the Limits of Traditional Lightweight Materials

Gil Bruvel – Steel Artist

Gil Bruvel is a veteran artist who creates sculptures using stainless steel. (Source: Gil Bruvel)

Gil Bruvel is an artist who works with stainless steel to create beautifully crafted sculptures of the human form. For the past 40 years, Bruvel has dedicated himself to painting, drawing and sculpting. He worked on a series of stainless steel sculpture for his Flow Series that depict aspects of nature mixed with the human body. Check out his creations and learn more about why Bruvel chooses to work artistically with steel.

Take a look: Ask an Expert: Capturing the Fluidity of Life in Ribbons of Steel – An Interview with Gil Bruvel

POSCO’s Masters of Korea

Every year, POSCO names its Masters of Korea. These masters are employees who have become experts in their respective fields through years of hard work and dedication. All 3 Masters of 2017 contributed to POSCO by developing new technologies, coming up with groundbreaking ideas and finding solutions to make POSCO safer, more efficient and highly competitive in the global steel industry. Find out who they are and their journey to becoming the POSCO Masters of Korea.

Master Nam Tae-Gyu has 40 years of experience working for POSCO.

Master Nam Tae-Gyu: POSCO Masters: 40 Years in the Making

Suh Gwang-Il examines machinery at a POSCO steel mill with colleagues.

Master Suh Gwang-Il: POSCO Masters: A Cold Rolling Expert

Master Kim Yong-Hoon played a key role in automating POSCO’s production systems.

Master Kim Yong-Hoon: POSCO Masters: Leading the Way Towards Automation

Thank you to the experts that helped make the Steel Wire shine like steel in 2017. In 2018, we look forward to even more opportunities to collaborate with even more experts to help provide you, our readers, a deeper understanding of steel and its applicability across industries.

How does he come up with his designs?

“All my collections are built on scientific research. Technology helps me realize complex ideas and thoughts,” said Josefi. For the GANGS collection, his complex ideas were expressed through the use of steel, laser printing and 3D printing technology.

“During the design process, I was inspired by the movie ‘Gangs of New York’. I hope that my design will provide a stronger self-esteem in the tough times we live in and I chose to focus on womenswear with this collection. I always want to contribute to gender equality and with my collection, I intended to highlight women’s incredible strength. Furthermore, I became a dad to a little daughter recently and I wanted to dedicate this collection to her,” said the Swedish designer who is widely known for his win on Project Runway Sweden in 2012.

Steel dresses from the 2017 F/W GANGS collection.

A Timeless Duo: Steel and Denim

With his background as a bespoke tailor and a keen interest in science, Josefi is spearheading the application of technology into fashion for a highly customized and personal fit. As a result, his pieces incorporate some unlikely materials and the GANGS collection was no exception.

“I think denim and steel are always matched together. You always find steel details in denim garments such as buttons, zippers and rivets. The connection between denim and steel already exists. I just wanted to highlight the collaboration between the Swedish steel industry and fashion industry even more.”

He did just that by using 100 percent recyclable steel sequins to make the dresses for his collection. Josefi worked closely with a steel manufacturer in Munkfors, Sweden. Together, they produced extremely thin bands of steel and added color to them through an electrical heating treatment. Finally, the bands were cut into small sequins via a technique called etching.

Naim Josefi undergoing the intensive process of sewing on the steel sequins by hand.

What was the hardest part of working with steel?

“The difficulties were in cutting the perfect sizes because the steel I used is very thin- 0.022 mm (1/4 of a human hair) and I needed more than 100,000 pieces. This is my most ambitious high-tech project so far. The dress is made of more than 18,000 pieces of steel sequins in different shades. Every sequin of steel is stitched by hand on a silk fabric.”

[clickToTweet tweet=”This is my most ambitious high-tech project so far. The dress is made of more than 18,000 pieces of steel sequins in different shades.” quote=”This is my most ambitious high-tech project so far. The dress is made of more than 18,000 pieces of steel sequins in different shades.” theme=”style6″]

Designing for Sustainability

Steel sequins were not the only high-tech and sustainable component of his collection. Josefi used denim as his key fabric and incorporated laser printing into the design process.

Laser-printed denim was a key fabric for the 2017 F/W GANGS collection.

Why use laser printing?

“To support sustainability. Production is situated in Portugal where we use ecologic denim fabrics with a high-tech laser treatment to create the patterns. The laser technology reduces water consumption by 80 percent in the washing process. The benefits of laser printing for the design is that we get more elegant and clean graphic patterns.”

3D Printing for the Perfect Fit  

The GANGS collection was not Josefi’s first attempt at high-tech design. In 2011, Josefi was nominated for a Brit Insurance Design Award for his 3D-printed Melonia shoes.

“I wanted to push forward the concept of tailoring. I came to the idea that the perfect measurement is scanning the body and the perfect tailoring is done by 3D printing the garments. My Melonia shoe was a demonstration of the future tailoring concept.”

Josefi was nominated for a Brit Insurance Design Award for his 3D-printed Melonia shoes. (Source: Arch20)

So, how does one 3D-print a pair of killer heels?

“We scanned the foot and shaped the design digitally in Rhino software to fit the scanned foot and then we printed the design in polyamide in an SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) 3D printer. The technology is still very new and the quality of scanning and 3D printing in different materials is still quite limited.”

For his most recent SS18 collection, Josefi designed 3D-printed steel hats, and is currently working on 3D printing steel jewelry.

“It’s always important for me to push the development further. It’s my responsibility as a designer to challenge the development to something better.”

When asked if he plans on using more steel for future collections, his answer was a definite “Yes.”

Naim Josefi’s 2017 FW GANGS collection is gaining international attention.

Cover photo courtesy of Petroleum Economist.