As a manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders combining high reliability and advanced technologies, Mailhot Industries stands out from the competition through the quality of its innovation driven products.
The company offers a full range of rod and telescopic cylinders for heavy vehicles used in environmental and waste management, natural resource extraction, construction, and snow removal.
An initial collaboration with Novika led to the development of a laser microtexturing method that improves the tribological performance of cylinder surfaces, notably resulting in a service life that is 1.5 to 2 times longer. By using ultrashort pulse lasers, specifically femtosecond lasers (10⁻¹⁵ s) the team was able to combine precision and machining quality through microcavities invisible to the naked eye, giving the cylinders new innovative and exclusive characteristics that reduce abrasive behaviour and improve the lubrication of sealing surfaces.
A precise arrangement of these microcavities made new functionalities possible, further increasing the technological level of the cylinders. Mailhot Industries therefore turned to INO to develop an optical reader capable of detecting and interpreting the presence of these microcavities in order to calculate the exact extension of the cylinder.
Because surface microtexturing opened the way to higher value added cylinders, Mailhot Industries and Novika joined forces with the Institut national d’optique (INO) and APF Villeneuve, a machining specialist, as part of a collaborative project supported by the Consortium de recherche et d’innovation en transformation métallique (CRITM). The goal of this project was to develop a unique piece of equipment that would allow the partner companies to texture prototype cylinders for testing under real operating conditions.
In parallel with the development of an optical sensor at INO, Novika carried out the design, manufacturing, and commissioning of the industrial equipment. The microtexturing equipment incorporates an ultrashort pulse laser, specifically a femtosecond laser, and precision positioning axes for the automated creation of millions of microcavities on the surface of cylinder rods. This highly instrumented equipment is designed to meet the requirements of standards Z432-16 and IEC 60825-1:2015 for machine safety and laser radiation.
In September 2021, the teams at Mailhot Industries and APF Villeneuve received their microtexturing system along with training on how to use it.
