March 11, 2024 · 9am – March 15, 2024 · 5pm EDT
Registration Fee: $5,000
Secat’s Certificate in Aluminum Metallurgy Class of 2024 will kick-off in March. Course 1, Aluminum Casting, will cover melting and casting of aluminum alloys and is segmented to provide detailed instruction related to both shape casting and ingot casting. In addition to instruction from Secat’s experienced staff, two experts will provide additional instruction related to their specific fields. Dr. Alan Luo of The Ohio State University will discuss high pressure die casting and integrated computational materials engineering (ICME). David Weiss of Eck Industries will present on sand and permanent mold casting with an emphasis on recycling and sustainability.
This course is applicable for process engineers, process technicians, supervisors, quality technicians, quality managers, metallurgists, and lab managers. The lessons will be delivered first in lecture format and then with hands-on demonstrations using laboratory scale equipment. The course will be held at Secat’s Lexington, KY and Nicholasville, KY facilities (30 minutes apart).
Course Objectives:
· Understand cast and wrought aluminum alloy systems
· Overview of melting including charging, filtration, and de-gassing
· Exposure to common methods of shape casting including, sand, permanent mold and die casting
· Learn about the direct chill ingot/billet casting
· Demonstrate the effects of cooling rate and grain refiners on casting microstructures and properties
· Hands-on exposure to common test methods for measuring hydrogen and inclusions in the melt
· Brief exposure to recycling, emissions, sustainability, and tools for computational simulations
Registration fees include all course materials and lunch both days.
June 3, 2024 · 9am – June 7, 2024 · 5pm EDT
Course 2 of 4 in the Certificate in Aluminum Metallurgy program
Secat’s Certificate in Aluminum Metallurgy course 2: Deformation Processing. This course will cover wrought processing of aluminum alloys with emphasis on rolling, forging, and extruding. In addition to instruction from Secat’s experienced staff, two experts will provide additional instruction related to their specific fields. Dr. Scott Goodrich of Constellium (Retired) will teach the rolling sections and Dr. Wojtek Misiolek of Lehigh University will present on extruding of aluminum.
This course is applicable for process engineers, process technicians, supervisors, quality technicians, quality managers, metallurgists, and lab managers. The lessons will be delivered first in lecture format and then with hands-on demonstrations using laboratory scale equipment. The course will be held at Secat’s Lexington, KY and Nicholasville, KY facilities (30 minutes apart).
Course Objectives:
· Learn about hot and cold rolling and how the microstructure evolves throughout processing.
· Understand forging processes and equipment
· Review the extrusion process and discuss metallurgical features that are unique to extruding
· Demonstrate the concept of flow stress and how if effects workloads on presses
· Experimentally show the evolution of microstructure during forging
· Show typical defects that are common for each wrought processing method and discuss their origins
· Brief discussion on stamping, drawing, joining and fabricatio
Registration fee includes course materials and lunch each day
September 2, 2024 · 9am – September 6, 2024 · 5pm EDT
Course 3 of 4 in the Certificate in Aluminum Metallurgy program
Secat’s Certificate in Aluminum Metallurgy Course 3: Thermal Treatments. This course will provide instruction on common thermal treatments for both cast and wrought aluminum alloys. This includes homogenizing, pre-heating, annealing, stress-relief, solution heat treatment, quenching, and aging. This course will be taught by Secat’s team of experts who have extensive experience studying the effects of thermal treatments on the microstructure and properties of aluminum alloys. In addition, Dr. Aaron Lalonde from Army Research Laboratories will be instructing on additive manufacturing of aluminum alloys and Dr. Judy Runge from Apple (retired) will be presenting on common surface coatings and treatments for aluminum alloys.
This course is applicable for process engineers, process technicians, supervisors, quality technicians, quality managers, metallurgists, and lab managers. The lessons will be delivered first in lecture format and then with hands-on demonstrations using laboratory scale equipment. The course will be held at Secat’s Lexington, KY and Nicholasville, KY facilities (30 minutes apart).
Course Objectives:
· Review the temper designations for aluminum alloys
· Learn about the effects of homogenizing on the microstructure and understand how homogenization parameters can affect the properties in the final product
· Demonstrate how and when recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth occur during annealing
· Hands-on exposure to the effect of quench rate on distortion, residual stress, and properties
· Review the solution heat treatment process and specify processing windows for solution heat treatment
· Learn about the aging process and the effects of time and temperature on properties
Registration fee includes course materials and lunch each day
November 4, 2024 · 9am – November 8, 2024 · 5pm EST
Course 4 of 4 in the Certificate in Aluminum Metallurgy program
Secat Certificate in Aluminum Metallurgy Course 4: Testing & Properties. This course will cover metallurgical tests used to evaluate and certify metal product forms. In addition to instruction from Secat’s experienced staff, experts will provide additional instruction related to their specific fields. Dr. Rudy Buchheit, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky will lecture on corrosion mechanisms in aluminum alloys.
This course is applicable for process engineers, process technicians, supervisors, quality technicians, quality managers, metallurgists, and lab managers. The lessons will be delivered first in lecture format and then with hands-on demonstrations using laboratory scale equipment. The course will be held at Secat’s Lexington, KY facility.
Course Objectives:
· Review of aluminum grades and tempers
· Measurement of chemical composition by use of optical emission spectroscopy
· Learn about mechanical properties of aluminum alloys with demonstration showing measurement of fatigue and fracture toughness
· Understand common metallographic (micro & macro) sample preparation techniques with demonstration of microstructural characterization by use of optical and electron microscopy
· Discuss and demonstrate how formability parameters such as tensile r & n value and forming limit diagrams are measured
· Review types of corrosion, corrosion mechanisms, and electrochemistry in aluminum alloys
Registration fee includes course materials and lunch each day