Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Laserax, a Québec based company located in Lévis, Québec, strives in implementing automated laser marking and cleaning solutions, providing turnkey machines and OEM systems for manufacturing companies. Laserax constantly thrives to push the limits of laser technology and establish new standards in the industry via continued research and development activities. Light weighting in transport industry being a constant challenge, the company has demonstrated tremendous interest in contributing to reducing weight by using their laser systems to texture aluminum surfaces for structural adhesive joining, a technique leading to use of reduced number of bolts and rivets in assembling. This project aims at studying the effect of surface roughness of laser textured aluminum surfaces on their surface properties and how it affects joint strengths, ultimately contributing to the optimization process of the texturing process toward improved performance of bonded joints.