Alcoa, Pittsburgh, Pa., has developed a technology called Micromill, which is said to reduce production time for automotive aluminum alloys from 20 days to 20 minutes. It reportedly changes the microstructure, resulting in 40% higher formability and 30% greater strength than incumbent aluminum, while meeting stringent automotive surface quality requirements. Automotive parts will also reportedly be twice as formable and 30% lighter than parts made from high-strength steel.
Micromill aluminum sheet is easier to shape into intricate forms, such as the inside panels of automobile doors and external fenders, which today are generally made of steel. Higher strength will improve dent resistance, enabling the production of automotive sheet that is thinner and even lighter than previous generations. It will also be the fastest, most productive aluminum casting and rolling system in the world.
Micromill also has a significantly smaller footprint than a traditional rolling mill, at just one quarter the size, and lowers energy use by 50%. The Alcoa Micromill technology and the differentiated metal it will produce are covered by more than 130 patents around the world.
