Eric Devin is joined by Philip Bargiel and Nathan Staples for a very special GFFN Preview Show to look forward to the Coupe de la Ligue final and to analyse the international break across the French senior team and youth teams.
We apologise for the technical difficulties which have affected the sound quality in the opening three minutes.
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China’s financial and real estate markets have been on shaky grounds lately, with the Evergrande crisis grabbing the headlines over the past few months.
With some describing Evergrande’s trouble as the straw that broke the camel’s back, China’s housing market now looks like a huge bubble that's starting to burst.
As the fate of China Evergrande Group remains unclear and with the economic recovery still threatened by global issues such as rising inflation and a chaotic supply chain, the collapse of the indebted company and the Chinese housing market at large, could have a disastrous impact on the economy.
What impact exactly? And how could this affect the price of physical gold? Let’s unpack.
To help you better understand what is exactly going on in China, let’s refresh on the practical definition of a housing bubble:
And that’s exactly what’s been happening in China.
For many years, the bubble in the country’s real estate market has led to rising property prices, while construction companies scrambled to build more houses.
But lately, the demand for new housing has shrunk significantly, with home prices starting to fall for the first time in 6 years.
This has happened for a number of reasons, among which China’s aging population or simply because buying a house became too expensive.
To easily understand the extent of real estate construction in China, we could just say this:
Between 2011 and 2013, China consumed 6.6 gigatons of concrete… which is more than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century.
This gigantic amount could in part be explained by the fact that real estate was once deemed a safe and profitable investment in China.
For decades, the Chinese government has encouraged people to invest in the real estate market because it has been one of the key ways to increase the country’s wealth and household income. Why?
So, to sum up, the incredible public interest in real estate has created a steady stream of wealth for the state while also adding to the rising number of homeowners in China.
Sounds great for China, right?
Well, the issue is that they might have overdone it a little.
Indeed, this interest in real estate has also led to the emergence of entire ghost cities, with eerie shopping malls and completed apartment blocks but almost no signs of life.
Supposedly, China currently has at least 65 million empty homes — enough to house the entire population of France.
The “ghost cities” phenomenon is not new in itself. In some parts of the U.S. and Japan, one can find abandoned homes or villages in various states of decay, but China’s ghost towns are different.
These Chinese ghost cities were not abandoned, but rather never occupied, to begin with, and are a strange symptom of the supply and demand imbalance.
“These homes being empty means they are sold out to investors and buyers, but not occupied by either the owners or renter,” explained Xin Sun, a senior lecturer in Chinese and East Asian business at King’s College London.
Adding that part of the problem is that “China overestimated its urbanization rate — how many people would want to move from rural to urban areas.”
Want to see what a ghost city looks like? Here are some of the most famous ghost cities of China:
Tianducheng, the Paris of China
Located about two hours west of Shanghai, Tianducheng was supposed to look like a miniature Paris. Built for a population of 10,000, the town has a 300-foot (91 m) tall Eiffel tower, cobblestoned streets, Renaissance fountains, and grey Parisian facades.
According to original plans, the city was supposed to have10’000 residents. But today the town’s population is only around 10% of that. Therefore it’s unsurprising that the almost empty town is now used for the occasional exotic wedding photoshoot.
Ordos, a “doomed metropolis”
Located in the Inner Mongolian region, Ordos was initially built to house around 300,000 residents. But for many years, only around 2,000 people have lived here, with much of the city giving off the vibes of a post-apocalyptic world.
This ghost city has also been featured in the famous photo series “Unborn Cities” and “Ordos – A Failed Utopia.”
So, what exactly are the reasons why so many buildings, neighborhoods, and even cities in China have stayed vacant for years? Here are a few:
First, with investing being somewhat difficult in China, people started using real estate as an investment rather than a property to live in, buying houses and apartments only to resell them directly.
Second, because housing prices had been going up for a long time, it was relatively easy to buy and resell a property for profit, without even ever setting foot into it. As a result, real estate companies started constructing residential buildings, and even entire towns, only for this purpose, sometimes without bothering to finish the units before selling them.
And, with real estate demand running high and prices going up, real estate companies had more incentive to make profit and borrow more money to build new empty housing units. An efficient strategy, until prices stop going up and demand drops, drying up the profits and leaving highly indebted real estate companies in the dust.
What do we have at the end? People stuck with unused properties that they are unable to sell for profit, and indebted real estate companies (like Evergrande) with gigantic construction projects that are often technically worthless.
This is actually one of the main reasons behind the ongoing China Evergrande crisis that risks unravelling the global real estate market.
Many see the Evergrande debt crisis as a major test for Beijing, one that could send shockwaves across the world’s second biggest economy and further.
And while the world is still waiting to see what will happen to Evergrande and its enormous pile of debt, let’s see what the situation is all about.
Evergrande is one of China’s biggest real estate developers and is part of the Global 500, which means that it’s also one of the world’s largest businesses by revenue.
Evergrande says it “owns more than 1,300 projects in more than 280 cities” across China — but its interests extend far beyond real estate.
Outside housing, China Evergrande Group has invested in electric vehicles, sports, and even theme parks. It also owns a food and beverage business, selling groceries, dairy products, and other goods in China.
The group is infamous for becoming China’s most indebted developer, raking in more than $300 billion worth of debt.
Over the past few weeks, Evergrande has been struggling with cash flow issues, raising very real risks of default if the company remains unable to raise money quickly.
How did it come to this?
He added that Evergrande’s collapse “would be the biggest test that China’s financial system has faced in years.”
And many fear that if Evergrande sinks under its $300 billion debt, its failure would also affect the global economy.
For China, the biggest fear is a potential spillover effect that could hurt the wider Chinese economy.
Reportedly, Evergrande owes money to some 171 domestic banks and 121 financial firms. So if the company defaults, there will be consequences for the banking system.
And, apparently, Evergrande is only the tip of the iceberg: UBS estimates there are 10 property developers in potentially risky situations and with combined contract sales of 1.86 trillion yuan ($291 billion).
For the global economy… Well, it’s hard to tell.
Nobody really could predict the implications of the fall of Lehman Brothers — a global financial services firm — more than a decade ago. But we all know now how it played out.
Not everyone thinks Evergrande could repeat the Lehman scenario: “A possible Evergrande default could be a significant drag on the property sector. But we think it is far from being China’s Lehman moment,” said Barclays analysts in a note.
And yet, some countries have been ringing the alarm, sounding quite nervous:
So, it looks like, with the Covid crisis and the shaky economic situation currently in place, the downfall of such a major actor in the global housing market could have strong ripple effects everywhere.
Maybe even for gold.
It seems that the gold price has been more affected so far by traditional drivers like higher inflation or the U.S. dollar, than by the Evergrande crisis.
However, some analysts note that a potential slowdown in the global economy caused by the burst of China’s real estate bubble, could hurt the recovery from Covid-19 and set us back greatly.
This is why it will be important for investors to follow the development of this story, as it might have a serious impact on the global economy in the coming weeks and months.
And if things do get worse and aggravate the ongoing economic crisis, historical safe-haven assets such as physical gold, are likely to see an increase in demand from investors looking to protect their wealth.
Is your portfolio protected against this potential global economic crisis?
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Event profile Thailand Fashion Week
Next edition Thailand Fashion Week
Thailand Fashion Week editions
| Thailand Fashion Week 2024 | From 29 to 30 June 2024 | Bangkok |
| Thailand Fashion Week 2023 | From 28 to 30 June 2023 |
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Xometry has added four new 3D printed metals to its on-demand manufacturing services: maraging steel, Inconel 625, Inconel 718, and titanium. These premium alloys complement the already available stainless steel and aluminum metal 3D printing.
Metal parts in these alloys are produced using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). This process fuses powdered metal with a high-powered laser to build parts layer by layer. DMLS makes fully dense metal parts with exceptional mechanical properties and less design constraints than traditional manufacturing. Parts can be designed with lattices, generative- or topology-optimized structures, and integrate multiple assembly components into a unified body.
Metal 3D printed parts
DMLS Materials Available Through Xometry
Aluminum AlSi10Mg
A lightweight aluminum alloy that is a great alternative to machining or casting complex geometries.
Stainless Steel 17-4
A fully dense 17-4 PH stainless steel metal with a hardness of 40 HRC. This metal is heat treatable.
Stainless Steel 316/L
A fully dense 316L stainless steel metal with superb corrosion resistance. This metal meets the requirements of ASTM F138.
Maraging Steel MS1
A heat-treatable tool steel that can be post-hardened to more than 50 HRC to achieve excellent hardness and strength.
Inconel 625
A heat- and corrosion-resistant nickel alloy offering high oxidation resistance.
Inconel 718
A heat- and corrosion-resistant nickel alloy ideal for high-temperature applications. It offers good tensile, fatigue, creep, and rupture strength at temperatures up to 700 °C (1290 °F).
Titanium Ti64
A lightweight alloy with excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance used in high performing engineering applications as well as biomedical devices.
Custom / Other Material
Looking for another material? Choose “custom” and let us know by submitting your quote for a manual review.
Step 1: Upload your 3D model to the Xometry Instant Quoting Engine℠
Step 2: Click “Modify Part” and choose DMLS as the process
Step 3: Select your material and add any features or notes
Want to learn more? Download our DMLS Design Guide and review our capabilities.
Greg PaulsenThey call me the Director of Application Engineering at Xometry. This means I not only get to produce great design-for-manufacturing content but also consult on various custom manufacturing projects using CNC machining, additive manufacturing, sheet metal, urethane casting, and injection molding. If you have a question, I'm your guy.
Read more articles by Greg Paulsen
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Xometry’s software and product developers have been hard at work overhauling the Xometry Instant Quoting Engine’s part configuration page. We are pleased to announce the new updates are live and ready for you to experience now!
At Xometry, we are committed to continually improving all aspects of the business to provide our users with a better, smoother experience. This latest update to our quoting engine offers immediate benefits and lays the groundwork on the backend to enable us to launch more frequent updates with greater customizability than ever before. See what's changed and what's new in the sections below.
Let’s take a quick tour of the updated part configuration page. We encourage you to try the new experience for yourself and follow along! To get started, go to your quoting dashboard and open an existing quote or create a new quote. To enter the part configuration page, click on the 3D preview of your part, click on the file name, or click the “modify part” button.
When entering the configuration page, you will notice it now utilizes the entire page. This gave us more room to play with, allowing us to implement some useful features. The image above and the list below can help you get your bearings:
1) Configure Tab – This is the main tab where you will find your pricing, configurable part properties, and more.
2) Analyze Tab – This brings you to a much larger 3D preview and design feedback window, helpful in taking a closer look or reviewing part and file feedback.
3) Revise Part Model Button – Clicking this will open a window that allows you to upload an updated file or design revision of the part.
4) Price Tier Drop-down – This drop-down menu will display other pricing options related to our economy or expedited lead times.
5) DFM Feedback Dropdown – This drop-down menu will show you what checks we’ve done on your file. Any DFM or file feedback will also be outlined here.
6) Drawing Upload Area – This section is where you can upload drawings or other supplementary files. Take note that depending on your viewing device, you may need to use the adjacent scroll bar to see this section.
Chromate conversion, polypropylene, stereolithography, oh my! We understand when it comes to manufacturing, there are a virtually endless amount of terms, acronyms, and more that can be confusing to keep track and make sense of. Thankfully, Xometry has tons of informative and educational content on its website to help you make informed buying decisions! We’ve incorporated a built-in search bar within the configuration page to make it easier to access this content and help you understand all the options.
The search function can also be used to quickly find possible part parameters related to the search term. Looking for a particular finish but aren't sure which processes or materials support it? Just type it into the search bar and review the results.
Adding certification and qualification requirements such as ITAR, Certificates of Conformance, and Material Certifications are now more streamlined. You can find the tick boxes for these options right in the part parameters section. This also enables you to apply these certifications on a line item level instead of across the entire order.
The backend architecture of the page has also been updated. The changes will allow our developers to take our user feedback and make further improvements, additions, and customizations to our quoting interface more quickly and efficiently. If you have any feedback or recommendations, feel free to share them by contacting us at [email protected].
This update is just the beginning, keep an eye out for future updates to come through the pipeline!
Try Out The Update YourselfJoel SchadeggHey, I’m Joel and I’ll be your guide for everything Xometry! From my time as an Additive Technician in our 3D printing facility to operating a team of case managers as a Business Unit Manager, I have made it my personal mission to help customers like you you get the most out of the Xometry Experience. Now, as an Applications Engineer, I am here to help you by providing expert advice to help you excel and achieve success on your projects.
Read more articles by Joel Schadegg
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Effective cleaning of twin screw extruder parts, including the twin screw element, twin screw barrel, and twin screw shaft, is crucial for maintaining optimal performance. The process involves careful steps to ensure thorough removal of residues without damaging the components. Below are the detailed steps and precautions for cleaning the extruder screw and barrel.
The efficient active cleaning materials can be used for cleaning the twin screw element and the screw shaft of the extruder. The process involves several steps:
1.Manual Addition of Machine-Washing Materials:
2.Opening the Die Head:
3.Rotating the Extruder Screw:
4.Observation and Manual Cleaning:
5.Reassembling:
Reinstall the twin screw extruder and the die head to complete the cleaning of the extruder screw.
When using extruder cleaning materials, consider the following:
Cleaning the twin screw barrel or screw barrel is relatively easier but equally important.
Maintaining the cleanliness of twin screw extruder parts, including the twin screw element, twin screw barrel, and twin screw shaft, is essential for optimal performance. Proper cleaning methods and precautions help ensure the longevity and efficiency of these components. Regular maintenance and thorough cleaning prevent buildup and potential damage, contributing to the smooth operation of the extruder.
By following these detailed steps and adhering to the outlined precautions, you can effectively clean and maintain your twin screw extruder parts, ensuring they remain in excellent condition for continued use.
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For this webinar, Xometry manufacturing expert, Greg Paulsen, teamed up with Stratasys engineers, Lewis Simms, Head Additive Shop Engineer, and Kevin Sheehy, Manufacturing Engineer. These manufacturing experts dive deep into all things selective laser sintering (SLS), with topics including:
Watch this on-demand webinar to learn how to make high-quality selective laser sintered parts for prototypes, tooling, and production parts with advanced 3D printing materials. You can also learn more about Xometry's SLS 3D printing service or get the SLS design guide.
Lewis Simms, Head Additive Shop Engineer at Stratasys
As a Solutions Manager, Lewis’s mission is to help the manufacturing community leverage the best of the additive and conventional manufacturing services at Stratasys. He holds deep industry expertise in powder bed fusion technology and is passionate about production manufacturing with additive manufacturing.
Kevin Sheehy, Manufacturing Engineer at Stratasys
Kevin supports the Additive Polymer Department focusing on powder bed fusion through selective laser sintering (SLS), selective absorption fusion (SAF), and HP Multi Jet Fusion (HP MJF). Some of his projects include material development, manufacturing process control creation, and new product introduction. Kevin earned a B.S. and M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.
Greg Paulsen, Applications Engineering at Xometry
Greg Paulsen leads the Applications Engineering Team at Xometry, working directly with customers on special case projects. He’s an expert in all things manufacturing, from 3D printing to CNC machining, to injection molding and beyond. He spends a lot of time helping Xometry customers design for manufacturing and get the most out of their projects.
Serena NgohI write about Xometry and all things manufacturing. You might also see me hosting webinars, designing infographics, producing videos, and working directly with customers to tell their manufacturing success stories.
Read more articles by Serena Ngoh
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Since launching our Sheet Cutting Service, our customers have benefitted from getting instant pricing for their laser cut and waterjet cut parts from various materials and finishes. After listening to our customer's feedback and striving for continual improvement, we are excited to announce a slew of new upgrades to the Xometry Instant Quoting Engine, which dramatically improves the quoting experience for sheet cut parts. The changes are so significant we've dubbed the update "Sheet Cutting 2.0". Explore the changes and new additions we've introduced with this update in the sections below.
Our instant quoting on DXF files just got faster. Our data scientists and programmers have rebuilt how these files are processed to optimize and streamline the quoting experience. Before this update, DXF part files would need to be re-analyzed each time the thickness of the part was changed, which resulted in a less than ideal quoting workflow. The part analysis is now performed just once, enabling virtually instantaneous pricing updates when applying changes, including thickness changes! Here are some other tweaks we've made to boost quoting speed :
We strive to maintain affordable and competitive pricing across our manufacturing services. Our team has retrained our proprietary algorithm's pricing models for sheet cut geometry. The result is price reductions for most sheet cut geometries compared to the previous method. Here is what else we've done to offer the best possible sheet cut pricing:
We are excited to announce that nested DXF files are now supported! Designers and makers who regularly nest parts will love that they can upload a single DXF file containing multiple pieces laid out in a single sheet. Nested files are perfect for when you have various components that all share the same material, thickness, and finish. You can read more about nested DXF files and recommended best practices in our article on the subject. Here are some other benefits you can expect from this newly supported feature:
Our new vector-based 2D viewer for DXF files makes reviewing your uploaded design quick and easy, so you can make sure what you are sending us is correct. You can worry less about unnoticed file errors thanks to our newly implemented automatic file repair for DXF files. Common file issues that may cause problems with other vendors or services are captured and fixed during the file analysis process when your file is uploaded. This means more successful instant quotes the first time around and less for you to think about. Here are some of the common DXF file issues our automatic repair is looking for when you upload for a quote:
Try out the latest update for yourself!Joel SchadeggHey, I’m Joel and I’ll be your guide for everything Xometry! From my time as an Additive Technician in our 3D printing facility to operating a team of case managers as a Business Unit Manager, I have made it my personal mission to help customers like you you get the most out of the Xometry Experience. Now, as an Applications Engineer, I am here to help you by providing expert advice to help you excel and achieve success on your projects.
Read more articles by Joel Schadegg
Keyword: cnc turning
We are excited to announce you can now select from five more manufacturing processes within the Xometry Quoting Engine! You can now get quotes for Die Casting, Metal Extrusion, Metal Stamping, Laser Tube Cutting, and Tube Bending. You will find these options in the manufacturing process selection drop-down menu within our quoting interface.
Our experts will manually quote these options and work closely with you to ensure the best outcome and success for your project. You can learn more about each of these new processes by reading their descriptions and visiting the resources linked below.
Die casting is the manufacturing process of choice when producing high volumes of relatively complex metal parts and is widely used due to its versatility, reliability, and accuracy. Die casting eliminates all or most secondary operations needed to make a metal part; however, post-machining is common to meet tighter critical-to-function tolerances.
Die casting works by injecting molten metal into a die cavity, which takes the shape of the part and hardens into place before removal. Depending on the project scope, die casting can be low- or high-pressure, using a ladle or plunger to deposit metal. Die casting can produce highly complex, tight-tolerance parts in a repeatable manner at very high production volumes.
Learn more by visiting our Die Casting Services page.
See Our Die Casting Design Tips
Metal extrusion is the manufacturing process of choice when producing high volumes of material with a constant cross-section. With the extrusion process, metal material is forced through the shaped opening of a die using high pressure, resulting in an extruded profile. These profiles range from simple shapes like round or rectangular tubes, U- or H-channels, or more complex profiles with multiple internal hollows and external features, such as 80/20 and T-slot framing bar.
Learn more by visiting our Metal Extrusion Services page.
Metal Extrusion Design Mistakes to Avoid
Metal stamping is a manufacturing process in which coils or flat sheets of material are formed into specific shapes. Stamping encompasses multiple forming techniques such as blanking, punching, embossing, and progressive die stamping, to mention just a few. Parts use either a combination of these techniques or independently, depending on the piece’s complexity.
Metal stamping is an excellent way to mass-produce various complex parts, from car door panels and gears to small electrical components used in phones and computers.
Learn more by visiting our Metal Stamping Services page.
Laser tube cutting is the process by which tube stock material is selectively cut to form various shapes, holes, designs, and/or channels using a controllable precision laser. The stock material (tube/pipe) is held in a controllable lathe, where the tube will rotate in line with the design specifications as the laser makes cuts. Laser tube cutting can create through-holes of any shape as small as the wall thickness of the material, and is also often used to cut channels that allow for easy bending and welding of the tube for angled tubing.
Learn more by visiting our Laser Tube Cutting Services page.
Tube bending consists of a series of manufacturing processes that alter the shape of a pipe or tube to create the desired geometry or features that meet specific requirements. In the process, tube stock is loaded into a bending machine which uses mechanical forces to push the tube against dies and rollers that cause the tube to conform to a shape. Tubes can be bent two-dimensionally where the openings remain on the same plane or in three dimensions where they sit on different planes.
Learn more by visiting our Tube Bending Services page.
Joel SchadeggHey, I’m Joel and I’ll be your guide for everything Xometry! From my time as an Additive Technician in our 3D printing facility to operating a team of case managers as a Business Unit Manager, I have made it my personal mission to help customers like you you get the most out of the Xometry Experience. Now, as an Applications Engineer, I am here to help you by providing expert advice to help you excel and achieve success on your projects.
Read more articles by Joel Schadegg
Keyword: cnc milling
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