Advanced scientific and industrial infrastructure, as well as expertise in developing assembly procedures and aluminium forming
The National Research Council of Canada’s Aluminium Technology Centre has the expertise and equipment to meet the needs of the aluminium transformation industry in the field of transportation and other manufacturing sectors. A wide range of services includes everything from large-scale research projects to consultation requests and characterization.
The main aluminium transformation technologies available include adhesive assembly, various welding techniques (laser welding, friction stir welding and robotic arc welding), pressure and semi-solid casting, forming and extrusion, as well as techniques for evaluating mechanical resistance, environmental sustainability, and metallurgical and chemical characterization.
The large-scale laboratory, measuring nearly 1,200m2, contains oversized equipment for industrial prototyping work: two robotic welding cells connected to a 10-kW laser, a friction stir welding machine, a 1,000-ton forming press and a 650-ton injection molding press.
- Surface transport vehicle lightweighting
- Aluminium assembly and forming
- Multi-material joining
- Advanced welding processes for manufacturing
- Sustainability assessment, including corrosion control and validation of the performance during use
- Aerospace and satellites
- Automotive
- Defence and security industries
- Manufacturing and processing
- Mining, minerals and metals
- Transportation
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Welding laboratory | 10-kW TruDisk10002 welding laser
| Equipment for welding metals with most welding processes |
Blackbird SCANLAB ScanControlUnit (SCU)-1
| Equipment for welding metals with most welding processes | |
| Lincoln (Power Wave 455) welder | Equipment for welding metals with most welding processes | |
| Fronius (Cold Metal Transfer (CMT), ROB 5000) welder | Equipment for welding metals with most welding processes | |
| Molding laboratory | Buhler SC N/53 die casting press | Industrial equipment for casting high-integrity aluminium parts |
| Fondarex HIGHVAC PREMIUM 2C vacuum | Industrial equipment for casting high-integrity aluminium parts | |
| YXLON Multiplex 5500M tomograph | Industrial equipment for casting high-integrity aluminium parts | |
| Forming laboratory | Interlaken ITC-100-40-HFP 1000-ton forming/hydroforming press | Industrial equipment for forming metal sheets and tubes. |
| Interlaken 3360-150-115-24-HP 75-ton servo press | Industrial equipment for forming metal sheets and tubes. | |
| Metallurgical characterization laboratory | Hitachi SU70 scanning electron microscope | Complete microscopic material characterization equipment |
| 3 EDS-EBSD-WDS detectors | Complete microscopic material characterization equipment | |
| Corrosion and surface laboratory | BioLogic Model 470 Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM) | Equipment for measuring materials’ sensitivity to corrosion |
| 4 Ascott cyclic corrosion chambers | Equipment for measuring materials’ sensitivity to corrosion | |
| Mechanical characterization and metrology laboratory | MTS Landmark +/-100kN servo-hydraulic device | Measurement of the mechanical resistance of materials and precise dimensions |
| Mitutoyo CRYSTA-Apex 9168 coordinate measuring machine | Measurement of the mechanical resistance of materials and precise dimensions | |
| Virtual digital simulation and casting laboratory | LS-DYNA for forming
| Simulation of metal transformation and assembly processes |
| ProCast for casting | Simulation of metal transformation and assembly processes | |
| HyperXtrude for extrusion | Simulation of metal transformation and assembly processes | |
| SPH3D for friction stir welding | Simulation of metal transformation and assembly processes |
Private and public sector research partners
- Natural Resources Canada
- Transport Canada
- Rio Tinto
- Bombardier Transportation
- Bombardier Recreative Products
- Cosma International of America
- Dajcor Aluminum
- Ford Motor
- Deere & Company
- Lincoln Electric Canada
- Magna Exteriors
- Manac
- Novelis
- Prevost Division Group Volvo Canada
- Raufoss Automotive Components
- Vari-Form
- Verbom