Pechiney, a producer and converter of aluminum, has chosen Lloyd Instruments, a unit of AMETEK Test & Calibration Instruments, to develop a testing solution that examines the strength characteristics of aluminum during casting. Lloyd Instruments has developed a horizontal testing machine as well as special software drivers for seamless control of its NEXYGEN(tm) material-testing software for the LabVIEW(r) industry platform. Pechiney is investigating how mechanical properties of molten aluminum change during casting and ultimately affect product quality. This testing involves measuring the rheological and rupture properties during solidification--a process that normally takes only minutes to complete.