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Arconic ( arconic.com ), is certainly pleased with those vehicles because his company supplies aluminum for them. And it also supplies a multitude of other OEMs with material, and has been, in many cases, for a number of years, particularly as sheet for closure panels. "Closures," he says, "are a natural fit for aluminum. OEMs have been making aluminum hoods for decades." Which goes to the point of experience in terms of processing the material in the factory. It is nothing new. That said, Thomas points out that they've developed a technology, "Micromill," that allows the creation of next-gen aluminum alloys that are as much as 40 percent more formable than what has traditionally been the case, thereby expanding the opportunity for use of aluminum in more expressively shaped closure panels. Thomas acknowledges that "formability is key" when it comes to OEMs, and adds that "styling is huge." As are, of course, lightweighting and safety. To the point of formability, he points out that while tradi- tionally it has been thought that if a deep draw is required, such as for a door inner, steel was the way to go, that is no longer the case. Consequently, it is possible to create doors where both skin and structure are aluminum. While it seems that B-pillars have become the realm of hot-stamped steel, Thomas points out that they've developed aluminum alloys that can be used for the application—and notes that the B-pillars in the F-150 are made with aluminum. Another development that Arconic has made to facilitate the use of aluminum is a pretreatment, Arconic 951. Thomas explains that this coating allows joints that are, say, adhesively bonded and riveted to have greater bond durability—as much as nine times greater—than aluminum coated with materials like titanium-zirconium. Yet proponent of aluminum as he is, Thomas recognizes that there is a likelihood for more mixed-materials in vehicles than just one, especially in cases where the vehicles are more mainstream than, say, a Jaguar XF. "There are more choices in material at the buffet table than there ever has been." He adds, "It's not an all-or- nothing proposition." "We have people designing for aluminum rather than just replacing steel with aluminum," Thomas says. "Could it change the slope of appli- cation of aluminum in the future? Sure. But what's not changing is the slope for content, for pounds per vehicle"— and he notes that in addition to sheet, there are also things like aluminum extrusions and castings—"will continue to go up." muratec-usa.com 866.680.1203 WHEN IT COMES TO MACHINES, WE DON'T SELL SPECS; WE CREATE SOLUTIONS. RELIABLE | AVAILABLE | MAINTAINABLE You can count on our machines to run, no matter what. Everything you need is right here in North America, including an on-site service and support team. MURATEC SOLUTIONS GEARED FOR YOU 38 ALUMINUM