Polishing operations are mandatory in the manufacturing of floors and terrazzo, which are performed with grinding wheels. This study is carried out in two main stages, a laboratory study and later a study in the experimental pilot plant where the obtaining of abrasive materials from the aluminothermic processing of solid industrial wastes and Cuban minerals is approached. Different mixtures composed of mill scale and aluminum chips to which different proportions of limestone are added are studied. As a result of the process, a high hardness ceramic is obtained as the main product and a metal as a byproduct. The results of the process are evaluated on the basis of the metal and slag yields. The behavior of the ceramic as an abrasive material is evaluated by means of scratch tests on glass, as well as the behavior of the powders during setting with p-350 cement. Finally, a real working test of the abrasive obtained is carried out, achieving good results, which justifies the production on a larger scale of the abrasive materials with the objective of substituting the imported abrasive. The proposed technology constitutes a great step towards sustainability, since it would allow to substitute the importation of this product, minimizing its price and using Cuban industrial waste and minerals as raw materials.

The size, shape and distribution of the grains are important parameters in the sands used in foundries, since several physical and technological properties of the mold depend on them, and more or less directly. The knowledge of the size, shape and distribution of the grains and the content of the clayey component allows to establish a classification of the molding sands, so that a common language can be established about them. The objective of this work is to evaluate the influence exerted by the granulometry of the silica sand on the quality of the molding mixtures in the No bake mixtures process at the “Planta Mecanica” Santa Clara, as well as the consumption of resins and catalyst. An experiment is designed to evaluate the properties of several sands, Guane deposits in Pinar del Río and sand from the Casilda deposit, and the main mechanical properties of the mixtures are measured. It is determined that the mixture that meets the best economic technical parameters on a laboratory scale has 12% and 88% of new and return sand respectively, between 2.5 and 2.7% of resin (with respect to the weight of the sand) and 30% catalyst (based on the weight of the resin). From the granulometric study carried out, it is obtained that both sands contain a large amount of fines, considerably increasing the consumption of resins.

This paper is part of a series of papers dedicated to academic logistics thinking in the context of metacognition. It builds on the first foundational paper by Glistau et al. in 2023. The purpose of this paper is to answer the following research questions: How should the stock of methods in logistics be classified according to research activities, and what are the important research methods in logistics? 2. What knowledge is relevant to logistics as an interdisciplinary research? 3. What new research areas and exemplary research questions can be derived from the interdisciplinarity of logistics? The research results presented here are based on the empirical knowledge of the authors supplemented by selective, complementary literature analyses of relevant literature.

Dear colleagues: Within the framework of the IV International Scientific Convention of Science, Technology and Society "CCI 2023", the Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of the Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas, Cuba and the Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany will host the X edition of the International Scientific Conference on Mechanical Engineering, COMEC 2023. The Conference will be held under the auspice of the Ministry of Higher Education of the Republic of Cuba, in the tourist destination Cayos de Villa Clara, Cuba from June 23 to June 30, 2023. COMEC 2023 will stimulate the exchange among professionals, scientists, technicians, businessmen, government representatives, international organizations and the general public, interested in investigating, promoting, analyzing and knowing about the advancement of technology, as well as its current applications in the different sectors of the society. The Organizing Committee of COMEC 2023 reiterates the invitation to present professional contributions, with the guarantee that the organization committee we will strive to achieve common objectives in a climate of friendship and solidarity. It is to you sincerely, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.h.c. Norge Isaias Coello Machado President of the Organising Committee COMEC, 2023