New metal alloy is super strong, easy to cast

Boston Globe ^ | 7/5/2002 14:23 | Peter Svensson, Associated Press

[ChadGore]

NEW YORK (AP) It could be the new superhero of metals.

More than twice as strong as titanium and steel, it doesn't rust and it can be cast like plastic and honed to an edge as sharp as glass.

And like any superhero, it has a weakness: don't heat it too much, or it loses its strength.

[HiTech RedNeck]

(imagine a pitted and corroded hood or dash ornament.. nasty and ugly, but good enough to use to create a mold. Hey!)

And the new one will faithfully reproduce the contour of the pits and corrosion?

[Jhoffa_]

And the new one will faithfully reproduce the contour of the pits and corrosion?

LOL!

No, no..silly. you fill them with whatever you want..

And it doesn't have to be pretty.. It just has to be smooooth.

[cinFLA]

The temperature problem does seem a barrier to many applications, but I question the reporter's use of the word "malleable" and suspect he meant to say "molten".

Do your research. Soft Steel melts at 2730 but is malleable at the temperature in the article.

[mn12]

Ping! :)

[Squantos]

Skylight material in hail country !!!

Stay Safe !

[Squantos]

LOL !............No you can't have a red ryder BB gun ! You'll put your eye out !

Stay Safe !

[goldstategop]

Its still not ready for prime time. And it''ll never be used in sports equipment like baseball bats and bicycle frames where a combo of light weight and strength are desirable qualities. Oh well back to the drawing board.

[soundbits]

materials technology bump

[stands2reason]

It's not good for heating.

[piasa]

It's good enough for typical cooking temperatures... unless you cook broccoli above 750 degrees.

And it does sound like a good art material, as someone already said.

[riverrunner]

I can see all kinds of stuff this could be used for. But like a lot of us we need more info. Like can it hold threads what kind of pressure can it with stand ect. The cost factor isn't that big. About the price of titanum they are making lots of stuff from that and people are buying it.

[RightOnline]

Also good points. Still in all, I'd have to think that there will certainly be a fair number of applications where such a material can be cost-justified. A little spreadsheet manipulation is all it should take to determine whether or not Liquidmetal would be cost-justified, even with the higher costs of material, mold construction, etc.

I wonder what Liquidmetal v. 2 is going to be like??? :)

[E Rocc]

Can this stuff really hold 1 micron ?

If its softening at 750F, the melting point is probably low enough for permanent molding or even die casting. If the shrinkage is zero then yes, they probably could. Though the molds would be expensive as well as the material.

With a mixture of the metals they mentioned they aren't going to replace depleted uranium. Those are all low to medium density metals, and the very purpose of using uranium in shells is its high density.

I'd be concerned about the long term properties of this stuff...does it start recrystallizing over the years even at room temperature?

-Eric

[Free the USA]

bttt

[FreedomFarmer]

Gee, neat-o! bump

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Anyone know how this material compares with a metal called Nambe, came out of the Los alamos Labs years ago, and used for decorative pieces now.

I have a bowl made of the metal, which appears much like stainless steel.

[Willie Green]

Do your research. Soft Steel melts at 2730 but is malleable at the temperature in the article.

Well mister, I really don't need to be lectured on the iron-carbon equilibrium diagram, but I don't mind taking a closer look at the temperatures mentioned.

"By comparison, steel becomes malleable at about 2,100 degrees."

The only identifiable phase change "at about 2100 degrees" that occurs on the equilibrium diagram is the solidus that occurs at 2066°F when Ledeburite freezes for alloys containing more than 2% carbon (generally referred to as "Cast Irons")

The term "steel" is generally applied to Iron alloys containing less than 2% carbon, however the "soft" steel (0.1%) that you refer to, or "mild" steel (0.2% to 0.3%) contain significantly less carbon. Yes, these low carbon steels have melting points somewhere around 2700-2800°F if you ignore distinctions between the solidus and liquidus phase changes. But there is no phase change at 2100° in this region of the chart where steel would magicly become "malleable".

In fact, "hot working" of steel generally refers to metal forming that occurs above 1333°F -- although forming is easier (and preferred) at higher temperatures that are still below the solidus. Nevertheless, steel can still be "cold" worked at lower temperatures to the extent that it is still "malleable". Granted, it may be somewhat less "malleable" than at higher temperatures, but there is no critical 2100°F temperature where it suddenly "becomes malleable" as this article asserts.

[lodwick]

bttt

Happy Birthday Mr.President!

Don't miss this one.

[Centurion2000]

I can see all kinds of applications for this stuff.

Wonder what kind of a sword or an axe head you could get from this... or even armor plate. Something to look at anyway.

[Bogey78O]

To bad they stole the idea from Enterprise Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott who brought the idea to 1984 while on a mission to save the Earth in the future. Heh.