The VAW smelter at Kurri Kurri has been a producer of extrusion ingot for over 16 years. During that time there has been a continual focus on improving recoveries, which has led to the DC3 Casting Centre to be considered one of the benchmarks for the region. This paper examines some of the more unusual problems encountered during the production of 6XXX series billet utilising Wagstaff AirSlip~(TM) technology. It looks at identifying the root causes of issues and outlines some of the practical options for "fine tuning" the process to improve recoveries. Topics covered in the paper include extrusion ingot cracking associated with minor variations in alloy composition. It also details the impact of metal quality on casting, concentrating on the use of alkali elements to assist in ensuring optimum equipment performance. In addition, the paper will discuss extrusion ingot cracking resulting from temperature variations, particularly during cold casting conditions.
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