Posted on 07/05/2002 6:20:45 PM PDT by ChadGore
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:07:56 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Unfortunately it seems that whatever savings in manufacturing this could translate into would probably be canceled out by the high cost of the raw material.
If the academic weenie's say so, it's likely true.
Although I'd be curious as to what material they were using for the mold...
and if the mold itself retained dimensional quality with repetitive use.
Sounds like interesting stuff, but the article raises more technical questions than it answers. Simply calling a material "strong" doesn't indicate what type of strength they're talking about: tensile?, impact? is it tough or brittle?
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".
Interesting though! Thanks for posting!
Remember all that machined billet that cost an arm and a leg?
Possible backyard hotrodder replacement parts here..
(imagine a pitted and corroded hood or dash ornament.. nasty and ugly, but good enough to use to create a mold. Hey!)
10,000 angstroms, that's pretty small.
Transparent Alumina, which is aluminum oxide - Al2-O3.
A ceramic research lab in Dresden, Germany, has developed transparent Alumina by subjecting fine-grained (I'm guessing extremely fine-grained) aluminum to a whopping 1200 degrees Celsius ...the result of which is amazingly light but three times tougher than hardened steel of the same thickness, and it's see-through.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm don't be too sure 'bout that. If one considers the cost of "secondary handling" using current materials, you're talking about serious personnel / manpower costs. How long would it take to make up the difference between $15 and 50 cents per pound if one, two, or more people had to take the product made from cheaper materials and mill, grind, or otherwise "finish" it? At today's labor rates? That would take no time at all to eat up the "savings" in material costs, IOW. If one could cast a truly "finished" product from the get go..........what happens to those labor costs?
No, still sounds like a bargain to me.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm don't be too sure 'bout that. If one considers the cost of "secondary handling" using current materials, you're talking about serious personnel / manpower costs. How long would it take to make up the difference between $15 and 50 cents per pound if one, two, or more people had to take the product made from cheaper materials and mill, grind, or otherwise "finish" it? At today's labor rates? That would take no time at all to eat up the "savings" in material costs, IOW. If one could cast a truly "finished" product from the get go..........what happens to those labor costs?
Good point.
But the savings would depend on the complexity of the machining operation required...some are quite simple and with modern machining tools such as the CNC machine with programable milling capabilities, many jobs are pretty cost effective these days..especially when it comes to large orders.
Also, when it comes to casting a truly finished product we're talking about a higher quality mold, not the same sort used to produce unfinished items that require machining. This means cost of casting goes up.
Furthermore, when it comes to applications with tighter tolerance requirements such as motors, gears, and bearings...the fact that a material doesn't shrink when cooled is not going to solve the problem that a casting simply will not give you the precise polished surface finish needed for these parts.
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Sounds like a potential art medium.
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