Posted on 08/12/2010 7:59:04 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Apple has entered into an exclusive agreement to utilize amorphous metal alloys with unique atomic structures, allowing products that are stronger, lighter, and resistant to wear and corrosion, AppleInsider has learned.
The metal alloys owned by Liquidmetal Technologies were developed by a research team at the California Institute of Technology, and their amorphous, non-crystalline structure makes them harder than alloys of titanium or aluminum.
Introduced for commercial applications in 2003 through the Delaware-based Liquidmetal corporation, the product has been used to create technology for the U.S. Department of Defense, has been found in medical equipment, and is even used to create sporting goods like tennis raquets and golf clubs.
In a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week, Liquidmetal Technologies indicated that it had granted all of its intellectual property assets to Apple. According to the terms of the deal, Apple was awarded "a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercial such intellectual property in the field of electronic products in exchange for a license fee."
Though the licensing agreement grants Apple exclusive use in consumer electronics, Liquidmetal is still allowed to license its products to other companies for any use outside of markets where Apple competes, meaning its deals with defense contractors, sports equipment manufacturers and medical suppliers are likely to remain intact.
The agreement was made on Aug. 5, and was revealed to the SEC on Monday. It was signed by Larry Buffington, president and CEO of Liquidmetal Technologies.
The company's official website gives examples of where Liquidmetal's products were used in portable electronics in the past. It touts that Liquidmetal alloys are 2.5 times the strength of commonly used titanium alloy and 1.5 times the hardness of stainless steel found in portable electronic devices. The technology is said to allow for thinner, smaller design while offering greater protection for internal components, and giving users a scratch and corrosion resistant exterior.
"As the demand for product 'miniaturization' continues in the electronic casings industry, Liquidmetal alloys enable smaller, thinner and more durable designs," the company's website reads. "Current casings technology is pushed to the limit in supporting these new designs and specifications, especially requirements for larger LCD screens, thinner wall sections and pure metallic surface finishes for products such as mobile phones, PDA's and cameras."
Past devices where Liquidmetal's technology was utilized include the Nokia Vertu smartphone, Sandisk Sansa media player, and Sandisk U3 Smart thumb drives. The product was also used to create strong hinge components for devices like flip smartphones.
Apple's interest in a company like Liquidmetal is no surprise, given its constant desire to create smaller and thinner devices. Apple has also employed a unibody design in its portable computers, beginning in early 2008 with the MacBook Air.
The precision unibody enclosures are milled from a single extruded block of aluminum, allowing devices like the MacBook Pro to become thinner while maintaining a rigid, sturdy frame. Previously, the frames of Apple's notebooks were made from multiple parts. Now, raw aluminum is carved out using CNC, or "computer numerical control" machines.
That’s because unobtainium could only be divined
out of the thinnest air where corbomite is found.
Air that thin can only be found between the ears
of Senators and a few old Congressmen.
However, when Nancy Pelosi passes, megatons will
flood the market. But, do not invest in corbomite.
It is a toxic gas.
Apple has obtained exclusive license to use Liquidmetal Technologies’ metal alloy in consumer electronics. The metal alloy is made using Zircon mineral and is called Vitreloy. Unlike other metal alloys this Zircon based alloy doesn’t form crystal structure and is “amorphous” in nature, allowing it to be processed like thermoplastics using die cast at relatively lower temperature. Also, Liquidmetal alloy is more durable, harder, stronger and scratch resistant when compared to other metals like aluminum, titanium and steel.
As soon as information about the exclusive license deal was released speculations about where Apple will use the technology started flooding the blogosphere. The speculations ranged from MP3 player (iPod) to desktops. However, we believe that the first device to get the Liquidmetal treatment will be Apple’s Laptop lineup and specially the MacBook Air.
The MacBook Air is one of the thinnest laptop available on the market today, but it is slightly heavier at 3.0 pounds than few other ultraportable laptops that weigh around 2.5-2.7 pounds. The reason behind this slight increase in weight is the aluminum case, which is the heaviest part of the whole design. Yes, the same aluminum case makes the Air more durable and tougher than other ultraportable on the market, but also heavier.
With Liquidmetal alloy, Apple will be able to drastically increase toughness of the laptop further, while reducing the weight. Liquidmetal alloy has 6 times yield strength and 4 times hardness of aluminum, but it is only about 1.5 times heavier. So, Apple could triple the yield strength and double the hardness of MacBook Air, while decreasing the case weight by 25 percent.
Apple could also decrease production cost and time associated with milling operations required to make the aluminum case, as highly precise, cheaper and faster die casting process can be used for Liquidmetal alloy. The alloy will be costlier than aluminum, but the amount of alloy required and process cost for making laptop case will be lower.
Every Apple portable product can get a Liquidmetal upgrade, but we believe MacBook Air might be the first, as it has been due for a design refresh since launch in January 2008. We have added a video below showing the use of Liquidmetal in manufacturing of Omega watch bezels that are considered one of the toughest.
Looks like I’m not the only one who thought of that. I wonder when it’ll show up in choo-choo tracks.
"Liquid Metal"
Cheers!
Nope, no bogus charts here. These charts give you the specs of specific alloys. They are checkable. Metals have different qualities and usages. Your high carbon steel is hard but brittle and corrodes easily. The liquid metal here is hard but NOT brittle. That's what the elasticity is showing. It's also corrosion resistant. It's also much lighter.
No kidding. I've had the foil hat for several years, and now to have a ship!!!
Bon voyageeeee, GRRRRR..
I just noticed my LQMT stock spiked 72% today....
Carbon steel can’t be injection molded into precision parts needing little or no further processing before use.
And, carbon steel has nowhere near the elasticity of these amorphous alloys. iPad, iPhone, and laptop cases made of this material will be practically indestructible, More to the point, they won’t scratch, dent, or lose their lustre.
“Rearden Metal”?
Dang, beat me to it also...
WOW.
Just WOW !!!
Did I say W O W ?? !!!!
That IS convincing.
The article referred to the alloy being harder than stainless steel, which isn’t a difficult goal to achieve. Stainless isn’t that hard when we compare it to tool steels which would be Rc of 60 or higher.
Many stainless alloys scratch pretty easily when confronted with some grit.
here’s a link to their ball bearing bouncing demo.
It’s awesome in the amount of bounce time due to the dense structure of the material.
I want personal armor made from this stuff.. of course you’d be like the George Reeves Superman , with bullets bouncing off your chest..
http://www.liquidmetal.com/news/dsp.multimedia.asp
None of the materials on those charts are “carbon steel.”
When I hear “carbon steel,” I hear 1070 to 1095 steels, which I can harden to over Rc 54 with an oil quench.
You can find examples of carbon steel in springs, older screwdrivers, chisels and other hardened tools.
Well, whoopy duck. You're going to make a laptop case out of Rc 54 oil quenched hardened steel. Not. You want to try machining that into useable shape after you've hardened it? Or harden it after machining and maintain it's shape and thinness without warping or distorting?
Liquidmetal Defense ApplicationsLiquidmetal® Technologies has partnered with many Department of Defense research, engineering and development agencies, major defense companies and select universities to insert Liquidmetal® alloys as an enabling technology to enhance product performance and reduce weight. The material properties and characteristics of Liquidmetal alloys make them highly beneficial for numerous Space, Air, Land and Sea military applications. Liquidmetal alloys' technology provides for the optimization of properties for specific applications by tailoring the combination of process, chemistry and atomic structure. The net-shape processing characteristics of Liquidmetal alloys make the fabrication of highly sophisticated and sound composite structures possible while eliminating most secondary machining and processing.
The properties of Liquidmetal® alloys suitable for the defense applications are:
- High Yield Strength
- Unique Acoustical Properties
- High Hardness
- Low Melting Temperature
- High Strength to Weight Ratio
- Net-shape Casting
- Superior Elastic Limit
- Fabrication Process Similar to Plastics
- High Corrosion Resistance
- Non-Magnetic
- High Wear-Resistance
Awarded a series of multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts by the Department of Defense, Liquidmetal alloys' technology is currently being developed for use as a Kinetic Energy Penetrator (KEP) rod. The KEP, the key component of the highly effective armor piercing ammunition system, currently utilizes Depleted Uranium (DU) because of its density and self-sharpening behavior. Ballistic tests conducted by the Army have proven that the Liquidmetal® tungsten composite KEP exhibits self-sharpening similar to the DU KEP. As a result, the Department of Defense is working closely with Liquidmetal Technologies to develop a new class of effective and environmentally benign KEP rods.
The high strength and lightweight attributes of Liquidmetal alloys enable the Department of Defense to support its transformation toward lighter smaller and more cost effective systems. Liquidmetal Technologies is supporting research and development for a wide range of military applications. Examples include:
- Fuzes and Sub-Munition Components
- Lighter Weight Fragmentation Devices
- Composite Armor
- Aircraft Fasteners
- Light Weight Casings for Ordnance
- EMP and EMI Shielding
- MEMS Casings and Components
- Novel KEP's
- Thin Walled Casings and Components for Electronics
- Casings for Night Sights and Optical Devices
- Missile Components:Fins, nosecones, gimbals, and bodies
- Spacecraft, Aircraft, UAV & Ship Components
Liquidmetal® coatings, applied via thermal spray, provide high hardness with low friction. This characteristic is ideal for high wear environments. As the coating is mostly amorphous, little or no shrinkage occurs and thermal expansion is similar to that of typical steels. Test results demonstrate that Liquidmetal coatings are very resistant to thermal and load cycling. Liquidmetal coatings can be used to wear proof lighter materials such as aluminum and titanium to reduce system weight.
Ever hear of MIM?
Yes, carbon steels can be molded. So can real super-alloys like Inconel. This is a cute alloy, but it has some significant downsides, which I’m guessing Apple will discover in due time, just as the golf club makers did.
The big upside is that it is cheap to make into complex shapes. The secondary upside will be scratch and dent resistance. After that, I quit being real enthused about these types of metals.
Since I’m often on lathes and mills making parts out of various metals, I guess I’m just harder to impress with this announcement. The only real upside for Apple here is that they might reduce their manufacturing cost on some of their aluminum enclosures, some of which they’re making by CNC machining of a billet of aluminum.
Truth is, that many things are harder, many things are tougher, many things are more stain resistant. Carbon steel is strong, and relatively inexpensive and that is its greatest property. Yet, the hardness of carbon steel depends alot on the amount of carbon and the heat treatment history.
Steel can be effectively "soft" as "butter" when annealed and fairly low carbon.. like .15% or less. But in this form it is tough and takes a pounding and is relatively strong compared to metals like copper or brass or even cast iron. More carbon and you have the possibility of harder, stonger, but at some small sacrifice of toughness. At about .45% you get the stuff that inexpensive chisels and tools can be made but it becomes less suitable for i-beams and such.
Titanium is much harder than steel, stainless and still quite ductile and resistant to cracking and fatigue if designed properly, but it is heck to weld. Titanium is also quite light making it a favorite for the aircraft industry.
So, this is a case of the world of "it depends."
One supposes that these "liquid" metals are very much like glass, liquid at room temperature but solid for all intents and purposes. The value being that unlike glass, metals have the possibility of more ductility such that they might not be as brittle as glass.
Typically hard and brittle go together.
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