Increasing bonding performance for lightweight metals through chrome-free pre-treatment.

Written By Dr Nick Welton

Project OPTIMA built on previous work by Powdertech Surface Science (chrome-free pre-treatment technology) and the Non-Destructive Test (NDT) capability of TWI.

Ensuring optimal adhesive bonding performance for automotive aluminium surfaces

OPTIMA was a business-led consortium, focusing upon surface engineering and coating technologies for high value manufacturing to substantially increase bonding performance of lightweight components.

The project concentrated on:

  1. Development of an in-line NDT method to characterise surface metallurgy and improve consistency of the etched surface.

  2. Development of an in-line NDT method for assessment, quantification and improvement of a pre-treatment coating in order to maximise performance of the overall pre-treatment process.

These processes have enabled optimisation of process control and provided quality assurance for Powdertech’s cost effective chrome-free pre-treatment process for lightweight alloys, achieving the level of performance required by Powdertech’s automotive OEM customers.

Project partners:

POWDERTECH LTD, EMERALD AUTOMOTIVE, TWI

Dr Nick Welton

About the Author

Dr. Nicholas Welton, Technical Manager at Powdertech Surface Science, is a surface chemistry specialist with a PhD in Polymer Chemistry and over 25 years’ experience in polymer coatings, corrosion protection, and TiZr passivation.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3) and leads Powdertech’s R&D programmes with major OEMs, developing innovative coating and bonding technologies for the automotive, EVs, and other performance-critical sectors. 

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