With over 25 years of manufacturing experience, the Quebec company Les Soudures J.M. Tremblay (SJMT) was focused on finding a profitable solution to lengthen the life of the cathode plates used in the electrolytic process to refine zinc. An aluminium conductive cathode plate lasts for an average of 12 to 18 months, its efficiency slowly decreasing over time because of corrosion. The desire to find new techniques and solutions to recycle corroded cathode plates and therefore offer groundbreaking and competitive products to their clients, led the company on the path to innovation.With this in mind, the company turned to the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and an eco-friendly technology called “Friction Stir Welding” (FSW).
Differing from the usual arc welding techniques, FSW allows the welding of two materials with different characteristics, while preventing the distortion that usually happens with conventional welding means. This system would also reduce SJMT’s energy consumption and minimize the welding-related damaging emissions.SJMT unveiled the very first robotic friction stir welding (FSW) cell in production in Canada on 14th November 2015. While this welding technology has been known for many years, its implementation is not widely spread in North America.
According to SJMT, the new technology proceeded quickly from an idea in a lab to industrial production and is starting to pique other sectors’ interest, such as the mining industry, transportation and aeronautics. In turn, this leads to more effort put in innovation and glimpses to a bright future.