METALTec industrial R&D group

"The Advanced Manufacturing program team made sure they understood our needs and suggested a phased approach that reflects industry best practices. Excellent communication and easy access to experts helped us achieve our goals. The company manufactures approximately 300 refrigerated vans today and plans to double this number by 2021 thanks to the excellent market acceptance of the new technology chosen during this project. Manac, as a Canadian company, is proud to be able to count on the NRC as a centre of expertise that promotes innovation in Canada."

"The NRC's expertise and access to state-of-the-art measurement and characterization equipment have allowed us to increase our level of competence and understanding of the in-service behaviour of aluminium alloys for the automotive sector. The NRC provides us with an additional asset to respond quickly to customer needs and supports our activities to consolidate and develop our markets in this area."

"The NRC has allowed us to validate and understand the effects of corrosion on dissimilar metal assemblies. Concrete results supported by clear explanations allowed us to develop new, lighter and less expensive designs while minimizing the risks raised at the beginning of the project."

METALTec is an industrial research and development group. It offers its member companies the latest developments in the manufacture of metal products for the transport sector. METALTec catalyzes innovation by creating a research community with participants from across the value chain, from raw material suppliers to major vehicle manufacturers.

Its objective: to bring solutions to common industry problems through pre-competitive research projects. The results of these projects will enhance the capabilities of partner companies in the manufacturing, assembly and durability assessment of advanced components and several materials with specially adapted properties.

METALTec now has 23 active industrial members, 7 partners and 7 academic collaborators who share the cost, risks and benefits of pre-competitive research projects estimated at $2.5M per year.

• Active SPR tool using spring washers
• Additively manufactured die casting tooling life
• Aluminium phobic tooling by laser surface texturing for high‑pressure vacuum die casting (HPVDC)
• Binder‑based additive manufacturing of aluminium - Development of fast and safe process parameters
• Cyber‑physical platform for cobotic finishing of complex metallic parts
• Data‑driven process controls for hot stamping of friction‑stir‑welded tailored blanks
• Development of an artificial intelligence framework for the characterization of aluminium components
• Development of a design‑support tool and accelerated structural integrity qualification procedure for corrosion‑resistance assessment of multi‑materials assemblies incorporating high‑strength aluminium alloys
• Durable structural adhesive‑bonding initiative for aluminium components
• Evaluation of stress‑corrosion cracking behavior of AA7075 B‑pillars exposed to in‑services conditions
• Incremental manufacturing platform for structural aluminium
• Industry 4.0 toolbox for lightweight structural aluminium die castings
• Investigation of alternative warm‑ and hot‑forming processes with 6XXX/7XXX alloys combined to welding processes to produce body sub‑assemblies
• Laser welding high productivity 4.0 initiative
• Manufacturing process simulation of laser powder bed additive manufacturing
• Micro‑electrochemical investigation of aluminium alloy / surface‑finish / conversion coating combinations to explain their propensity to cosmetic corrosion
• Multiphysics topology optimization with application in aluminium forming
• Optimization of the thermal management of the tools used for aluminium forming with additive manufacturing
• Robotic GMAW welding of HPVDC parts and undercut post‑weld inspection
• SurfLock bonding: Adhesive and fastener‑free multi‑material joining
• Titanium‑based master alloys and grain refiners
• Variable extrusion of aluminium alloys: Experimental approach, development of virtual predictive tools and process optimization

• Gain access to unique technologies and confidential R&D results
• Be part of cutting-edge R&D projects at an affordable cost
• Make use of skills and expertise that align with your priorities
• Control, minimize and share the risks associated with new technology development
• Obtain comprehensive, reliable results you can adapt to your needs
• Expand your technical capabilities and become more competitive with improved quality, cost and turnaround times

All members first sign a standard agreement and pay an annual membership fee that is fully invested in research projects. They get confidential results, a non-exclusive licence on the intellectual property generated and excellent networking opportunities!

R&D activities are developed according to the priorities of METALTec industrial members based on shared problems and common areas of interest. Members analyze and evaluate all proposals submitted to the group so that the most promising projects can be launched within the available research budget.

Projects are defined by members twice a year, and the NRC is responsible for preparing proposals. The NRC may also work to obtain co-funding for the benefit of its members and thus conclude funding agreements with third-party organizations such as Natural Resources Canada, the Metal Transformation Research and Innovation Consortium (CRITM), the Centre québécois de recherche et de développement de l'aluminium (CQRDA), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), through its academic collaborators.

Results are delivered to members on an ongoing basis at biannual technology transfer group meetings and technical sessions held via videoconference. The documents inherent to the projects are uploaded to an online platform which only members can access.

In addition, members actively participate in R&D project steering committees, software user meetings, technical webinars, mini-conferences and promotional presentations on technologies.