Alcoa’s Micromill Technology for future cars

The Micromill is Alcoa’s proprietary technology that manufactures the most advanced aluminium sheet on the market, according to Alcoa. Since being introduced in December 2014, Alcoa has achieved some significant breakthroughs, producing more formable aluminium sheet, with greater strength, lighter weight and higher formability.

The Micromill process, according to Alcoa, changes the microstructure of the metal, producing an aluminium alloy sheet with unique microstructure that has 40 per cent greater formability and 30 per cent greater strength than the incumbent automotive aluminium sheet produced in rolling mills, all while at the same time meeting stringent automotive surface quality requirements. Moreover, automotive parts made with Micromill made material will be twice as formable and at least 30 per cent lighter than parts made from high strength steel, claims Alcoa. The Micromill alloy has formability characteristics comparable to mild steels.

The increased formability is important for automotive sheet since makes it easier to shape into intricate forms, such as the inside panels of automobile doors and external fenders. Additionally, the increased material strength improves dent resistance, enabling the production of automotive sheet that is thinner and even lighter than previous generations.

Alcoa signed the technology licensing agreement with the leading plant and equipment supplier Danieli Group to commercialise the MicromillTM Technology in a Worldwide Licensing Deal.

Alcoa has granted Danieli exclusive rights to sell Micromill equipment for a limited period of time. Danieli will offer it as an additional service, over Micromill technology, to its customers providing performance at high levels.

Ford Motor Company has signed a joint development agreement with Alcoa to collaborate on next generation aluminium alloys for automotive parts using Micromill technology. The company started using the material in multiple components on the 2016 F-150 truck at the end of last year being the first automaker to use Micromill technology commercially. Ford plans to increase the use of the material on a range of vehicles and future platforms. The projected use of Micromill material on Ford vehicles is expected to more than double from 2016 to 2017.