PROVIDING ALUMINUM ANSWERS

The scientists and engineers at Secat provide in-depth analysis using state-of-the-art metallurgical tools. Their advanced education combined with industrial experience provides a unique and valuable resource for aluminum companies. Secat is housed in a specially designed 10,000-square-foot research facility in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Secat has a wide variety of metallurgical R&D equipment, including SEM with EDS and EBSD, surface roughness tester, mechanical testing equipment for plate, sheet and foil, XRD for texture, hardness, earing, formability, and metal cleanliness (Alscan, Prefil, and Leco-Hydrogen). In addition, thermal treatment facilities with hot and cold rolling pilot capabilities enable Secat to develop new processes and alloys from casting to finished product.

SECAT

Plate, Sheet & Foil Technology

Secat offers the following services

Sheet product selection and development for specific applications:

Can and Can Lids Common Alloys Aerospace Applications Automotive Applications Foils for Packaging and Capacitor Applications

Sheet manufacturing process development and improvement Microstructural evaluation and material testing of sheet products, including texture, fatigue, etc. Formability evaluation and forming process modeling, including forming limit diagrams

Billet/Extrusion Technology

Extruded product selection and development for specific applications Extrusion process development Microstructural evaluation and material testing of extruded products, including texture, failure analysis, etc. Pilot scale extrusion capabilities Extrusion billet casthouse improvement and quality assessment:

Evaluation of Billet Microstructure Metal Quality Energy Audits

Casting Technology

Molten metal quality assessment and improvement, including Prefil and Alscan Casthouse safety assessment DC ingot casting modeling using ProCast Ingot microstructural evaluation Secat visited a customer facility with our mobile laboratory to help them identify existing inclusion and gas levels in metal using the Prefil Footprinter and Alscan, and help to determine how those levels correlate with the rejections received from field.

Materials Testing & Failure Analysis

Microstructural evaluation, including optical, SEM, TEM, etc. Material testing and evaluation Failure analysis Metal quality assessment Formability evaluation and forming process modeling, including forming limit diagrams An aluminum producer needed assistance in determining the cause of fractures that occurred during fatigue testing

Product Applications

Market surveys prior to introduction of new products Substitution of aluminum for other metals Finite Element Analysis (FEA) studies Alloy selection Manufacturing mode such as casting, extrusion, fabrication, etc. New alloy development Evaluation of new and competing process technologies Melting technologies Molten metal stirring Dross removal and fluxing Reverse engineering of parts to determine alloy and temper or production method

Marketing & Business Analysis

Secat offers Marketing and Business Analysis Services to solve customer problems and/or identify new growth opportunities. These services are performed by experts to solve complex business problems and identify business opportunities for growth and improved profitability.