Pillar Roadmaps
Joining & Assembly
A key challenge for the application of lightweight metals to manufactured goods is joining them – to other lightweight metals, traditional steel alloys, or non-metallic materials.
Coatings
Coatings are more than paint. Emerging coating processes are modifying the surface of metals to enhance their performance in exciting new ways.
Thermo-mechanical Processing
TMP refers to advanced metal processing using heat and deformation and can be applied to forming operations including, as examples, forging, rolling and extrusion.
Powder Processing
In powder processing, metal powder is generally squeezed, sintered and/or sprayed to form parts, sheet or plate, allowing great control over the final composition of the end product, its properties and yield.
Melt Processing
Melt processing refers to manufacturing processes involving molten metal. Casting is one very well-known example of many that are being re-examined and transformed by new technologies and lightweight metals.