Increasing bonding performance for lightweight metals through chrome-free pre-treatment
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:
Development of an in-line NDT method to characterise surface metallurgy and improve consistency of the etched surface.
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