LiquidMetal
Não é propriamente novo, mas é sem duvida uma das mais formidáveis ligas compostas criadas nos ultimos anos.
Com variadíssimas aplicações nos aparelhos electrónicos que usamos no dia a dia (telemóveis, Iphone, PC's, Ipod, Etc) e entre outras que passam pela aplicação militar, desporto e medicinal.
METALS & METAL PARTS: Metallic Luxury
High-tech metal making its way into high-end electronics
(appliancedesign.com) By Richard Babyak
Sports fans may already be familiar with an exotic alloy called Liquidmetal. Andre Agassi uses a racquet made with it, as do numerous other tennis stars, including Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was the surprise winner of the US Open 2004 in September. Golf clubs made with the metal have gotten rave reviews. And Rawlings makes baseball bats with it.
The novel material is also showing up in high-end consumer electronics. Earlier this year, a Nokia subsidiary called Vertu, which makes luxury cell phones, introduced its Vertu Ascent collection of $3,850 phones that use Liquidmetal alloy for the prominent front bezel and battery cover. Vertu selected the metal for its exceptional durability and scratch resistance.
Samsung uses Liquidmetal to make hinge housings for several highly featured models of flip-phone designs. Considering the critical necessity to protect the hinges in this design, Samsung chose Liquidmetal for its exceptional strength and resistance to deformation.
TAG Heuer, maker of luxury watches, uses Liquidmetal for the casing of its special edition Microtimer concept watch, a state-of-the-art digital movement timepiece whose electronic movement is accurate to 1/1,000 of a second. TAG Heuer picked Liquidmetal for its strength, ability to be polished into an attractive high-gloss appearance, resistance to dents and scratches, and also for its ability to be cast into precision, net-shape parts.
And Sony Corp. is working with Liquidmetal to develop an exterior casing for a high-end digital camera.
Liquidmetal Technologies, Lake Forest, Calif., is betting that even more consumer electronics manufacturers will be interested in its alloy in the near future, and cites a number of reasons. One is the increasing demand for product miniaturization. The strength of Liquidmetal permits smaller, thinner, more durable designs that will still be able to protect sensitive electronics and displays. The finish resists dents and scratches and provides a high-tech look. And the material processes similar to plastics, allowing the creation of complex, intricate shapes.
What is it?
Liquidmetal alloys are unconventional materials known as amorphous (non-crystalline) metals. Their atoms remain in a jumbled state, as when they were still in a liquid molten state, hence the name. The materials are twice as strong as titanium, won’t rust and can be cast as easily as plastic. By contrast, ordinary metals have a crystalline structure. The crystals, or grains, in the metal form as the metal cools, transforming from liquid to solid. The boundaries between the grains serve as weak points where cracks can propagate and oxidation (rusting) can begin.
Scientists within the metals industry have long sought to create amorphous metals without the crystalline structure, hoping that such a product would make metals preferable over plastics as a design and engineering material. Initial efforts, which began decades ago, focused on the cooling phase, trying to find faster ways to cool metal so that crystals would not have time to form. These rapid cooling techniques were partially successful, but only if the metal was sprayed, which limited its form to either thin strips or coatings.
In the early 90s, however, a couple of scientists at California Institute of Technology took a different approach. They created an alloy out of elements whose atoms are of different sizes: titanium, copper, nickel, zirconium, and beryllium. The size difference makes it difficult for the atoms to align and form crystals, even when cooled slowly. This development allowed amorphous metals to be made in thicker form.
The founders of Liquidmetal Technologies, Lake Forest, Calif., worked with the Caltech scientists to commercialize the concept by tailoring alloys for specific properties and by developing casting techniques for them. The first commercial use of a Liquidmetal alloy was in a golf club, because of the metal’s ability to transfer a high amount of energy to a golf ball.
Properties
According to the company, the characteristic properties of Liquidmetal alloys are:
High yield strength.
High hardness.
Superior strength to weight ratio.
Superior elastic limit.
High corrosion resistance.
High wear resistance.
Unique acoustical properties.
The company says that the unique atomic structure of Liquidmetal alloys provides a very high yield strength that approaches the theoretical limit and far exceeds the strength currently available in crystalline metals and alloys. (See Fig. 1.) For example, yield strength of over 250 ksi has been achieved in Zr-base and Ti-base Liquidmetal alloys (VIT-001 series). This is more than twice the strength of conventional titanium alloys.
Another unique characteristic of Liquidmetal alloys is the availability of its superior mechanical properties in as-cast form. This is in distinct contrast to conventional metals where the as-cast forms have inferior mechanical properties compared to their wrought and forged forms, which limits the fabrication of intricate and sophisticated designs.
The solidification of Liqudmetal alloys shows fundamentally distinct characteristics compared to the solidification of ordinary metals due to the lack of phase transformation from the molten metal state during solidification.
In addition, Liquidmetal alloys have very low melting temperature relative to their constituent metals. As a result, it is possible to fabricate Liquidmetal alloys in intricate and sophisticated designs without costly post-finishing processes. The company says that, with a good enough die, one could cast a scalpel blade and have it come out of the mold already with a sharp edge.
Liquidmetal alloys also have a superior elastic limit, that is the ability to retain its original shape (memory) after undergoing very high loads and stress. (See Fig. 2.) Furthermore, the Liquidmetal alloys have much higher corrosion and wear resistance than their conventional (crystalline) counterparts due to the unique atomic structure.
By varying chemical composition, some properties within the family of Liquidmetal alloys can be optimized even further, which includes the possibility of processing the alloys with a variety of reinforcements to create composite structures. Using those approaches, the alloys can be formulated to enhance any of the following properties:
Fatigue resistance.
Yield strength.
Density.
Elastic modulus.
Impact resistance.
Thermal conductivity.
Electrical conductivity.
Coefficient of thermal expansion.
Acoustic and dampening characteristics.
Despite the impressive array of properties, Liquidmetal alloys won’t serve as a design and engineering panacea. A key drawback is cost, due to the expensive metals, such as titanium, that comprise the alloys. Furthermore, the low melting point of the alloys limits the temperature range in which they can operate. However, those superior properties targeted toward the right applications can provide the ability to hit a cost/performance target, even for a high-volume product. Samsung Electronics obviously thinks so. The company has already produced more than 1 million flip-phones with a Liquidmetal hinge cover.
Sidebar Making the Case
With approximately 2.5 times the strength of commonly used titanium alloy and 1.5 times the hardness of commonly used stainless steel, Liquidmetal Technologies says its alloys enable the sophisticated designs that best represent next generation technologies. Those properties afford a number of advantages for housings and other parts in consumer electronics devices, in that they:
Enable thinner, smaller designs while providing greater protection for internal components.
Permit thinner walls while providing greater strength.
Allows larger, wider screens for expanded features and capabilities.
Provide excellent durability.
Are scratch and corrosion resistant.
Are non-reactive.
Can be polished to attractive, glossy finish.
Can be cast into precision net-shape casting with intricate designs.
Liquidmetal ® vs. Titanium
Pure Energy TransferTM Demo
Não é propriamente novo, mas é sem duvida uma das mais formidáveis ligas compostas criadas nos ultimos anos.
Com variadíssimas aplicações nos aparelhos electrónicos que usamos no dia a dia (telemóveis, Iphone, PC's, Ipod, Etc) e entre outras que passam pela aplicação militar, desporto e medicinal.
METALS & METAL PARTS: Metallic Luxury
High-tech metal making its way into high-end electronics
(appliancedesign.com) By Richard Babyak
Sports fans may already be familiar with an exotic alloy called Liquidmetal. Andre Agassi uses a racquet made with it, as do numerous other tennis stars, including Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was the surprise winner of the US Open 2004 in September. Golf clubs made with the metal have gotten rave reviews. And Rawlings makes baseball bats with it.
The novel material is also showing up in high-end consumer electronics. Earlier this year, a Nokia subsidiary called Vertu, which makes luxury cell phones, introduced its Vertu Ascent collection of $3,850 phones that use Liquidmetal alloy for the prominent front bezel and battery cover. Vertu selected the metal for its exceptional durability and scratch resistance.
Samsung uses Liquidmetal to make hinge housings for several highly featured models of flip-phone designs. Considering the critical necessity to protect the hinges in this design, Samsung chose Liquidmetal for its exceptional strength and resistance to deformation.
TAG Heuer, maker of luxury watches, uses Liquidmetal for the casing of its special edition Microtimer concept watch, a state-of-the-art digital movement timepiece whose electronic movement is accurate to 1/1,000 of a second. TAG Heuer picked Liquidmetal for its strength, ability to be polished into an attractive high-gloss appearance, resistance to dents and scratches, and also for its ability to be cast into precision, net-shape parts.
And Sony Corp. is working with Liquidmetal to develop an exterior casing for a high-end digital camera.
Liquidmetal Technologies, Lake Forest, Calif., is betting that even more consumer electronics manufacturers will be interested in its alloy in the near future, and cites a number of reasons. One is the increasing demand for product miniaturization. The strength of Liquidmetal permits smaller, thinner, more durable designs that will still be able to protect sensitive electronics and displays. The finish resists dents and scratches and provides a high-tech look. And the material processes similar to plastics, allowing the creation of complex, intricate shapes.
What is it?
Liquidmetal alloys are unconventional materials known as amorphous (non-crystalline) metals. Their atoms remain in a jumbled state, as when they were still in a liquid molten state, hence the name. The materials are twice as strong as titanium, won’t rust and can be cast as easily as plastic. By contrast, ordinary metals have a crystalline structure. The crystals, or grains, in the metal form as the metal cools, transforming from liquid to solid. The boundaries between the grains serve as weak points where cracks can propagate and oxidation (rusting) can begin.
Scientists within the metals industry have long sought to create amorphous metals without the crystalline structure, hoping that such a product would make metals preferable over plastics as a design and engineering material. Initial efforts, which began decades ago, focused on the cooling phase, trying to find faster ways to cool metal so that crystals would not have time to form. These rapid cooling techniques were partially successful, but only if the metal was sprayed, which limited its form to either thin strips or coatings.
In the early 90s, however, a couple of scientists at California Institute of Technology took a different approach. They created an alloy out of elements whose atoms are of different sizes: titanium, copper, nickel, zirconium, and beryllium. The size difference makes it difficult for the atoms to align and form crystals, even when cooled slowly. This development allowed amorphous metals to be made in thicker form.
The founders of Liquidmetal Technologies, Lake Forest, Calif., worked with the Caltech scientists to commercialize the concept by tailoring alloys for specific properties and by developing casting techniques for them. The first commercial use of a Liquidmetal alloy was in a golf club, because of the metal’s ability to transfer a high amount of energy to a golf ball.
Properties
According to the company, the characteristic properties of Liquidmetal alloys are:
High yield strength.
High hardness.
Superior strength to weight ratio.
Superior elastic limit.
High corrosion resistance.
High wear resistance.
Unique acoustical properties.
The company says that the unique atomic structure of Liquidmetal alloys provides a very high yield strength that approaches the theoretical limit and far exceeds the strength currently available in crystalline metals and alloys. (See Fig. 1.) For example, yield strength of over 250 ksi has been achieved in Zr-base and Ti-base Liquidmetal alloys (VIT-001 series). This is more than twice the strength of conventional titanium alloys.
Another unique characteristic of Liquidmetal alloys is the availability of its superior mechanical properties in as-cast form. This is in distinct contrast to conventional metals where the as-cast forms have inferior mechanical properties compared to their wrought and forged forms, which limits the fabrication of intricate and sophisticated designs.
The solidification of Liqudmetal alloys shows fundamentally distinct characteristics compared to the solidification of ordinary metals due to the lack of phase transformation from the molten metal state during solidification.
In addition, Liquidmetal alloys have very low melting temperature relative to their constituent metals. As a result, it is possible to fabricate Liquidmetal alloys in intricate and sophisticated designs without costly post-finishing processes. The company says that, with a good enough die, one could cast a scalpel blade and have it come out of the mold already with a sharp edge.
Liquidmetal alloys also have a superior elastic limit, that is the ability to retain its original shape (memory) after undergoing very high loads and stress. (See Fig. 2.) Furthermore, the Liquidmetal alloys have much higher corrosion and wear resistance than their conventional (crystalline) counterparts due to the unique atomic structure.
By varying chemical composition, some properties within the family of Liquidmetal alloys can be optimized even further, which includes the possibility of processing the alloys with a variety of reinforcements to create composite structures. Using those approaches, the alloys can be formulated to enhance any of the following properties:
Fatigue resistance.
Yield strength.
Density.
Elastic modulus.
Impact resistance.
Thermal conductivity.
Electrical conductivity.
Coefficient of thermal expansion.
Acoustic and dampening characteristics.
Despite the impressive array of properties, Liquidmetal alloys won’t serve as a design and engineering panacea. A key drawback is cost, due to the expensive metals, such as titanium, that comprise the alloys. Furthermore, the low melting point of the alloys limits the temperature range in which they can operate. However, those superior properties targeted toward the right applications can provide the ability to hit a cost/performance target, even for a high-volume product. Samsung Electronics obviously thinks so. The company has already produced more than 1 million flip-phones with a Liquidmetal hinge cover.
Sidebar Making the Case
With approximately 2.5 times the strength of commonly used titanium alloy and 1.5 times the hardness of commonly used stainless steel, Liquidmetal Technologies says its alloys enable the sophisticated designs that best represent next generation technologies. Those properties afford a number of advantages for housings and other parts in consumer electronics devices, in that they:
Enable thinner, smaller designs while providing greater protection for internal components.
Permit thinner walls while providing greater strength.
Allows larger, wider screens for expanded features and capabilities.
Provide excellent durability.
Are scratch and corrosion resistant.
Are non-reactive.
Can be polished to attractive, glossy finish.
Can be cast into precision net-shape casting with intricate designs.
Liquidmetal ® vs. Titanium
Pure Energy TransferTM Demo
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