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Apple-Liquidmetal Joint Patent Could Enable Futuristic-Looking Mobile Devices
MojoKid writes "Apple may be closer than previously thought to using Liquidmetal's technology to manufacture casings for its mobile devices. In a patent filing, a company called 'Crucible Intellectual Properties, LLC' (which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liquidmetal dedicated to Apple work) laid claim to a manufacturing process for creating 'bulk amorphous alloy sheets', also known as bulk metallic glass (BMG). The process, called 'float glass', involves two layers of molten metal, and the result is a glass-like metal that allegedly would be strong, incredibly lightweight, corrosion-resistant--and low cost. Further, the manufacturing process would ostensibly make it far easier to create specific items, as it removes some of the barriers and issues related to forming and cutting metal, and specifically BMG."
Despite the exciting name, all this stuff does is protect against bounces. Its appearance is somewhere between glass and metal. This better article from the site demonstrates the absurd amount of elastic energy it can handle.
Also, let's drop the "enable" part from the title: this product was already in use in both Apple products and products from other companies and has just been bought out exclusively by Apple as far as the tech sector is concerned. If anything that's a loss.
But, hey, I'm glad to know that we can finally have futuristic-looking mobile devices due to this exclusive patent licence! Thanks guys!
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
You can injection mold it, too.
(BTW the only Apple product currently using it is a version of the paper-clip substitute they ship with the iPhone in some regions.)
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Despite the exciting name, all this stuff does is protect against bounces.
I'm not sure that's an accurate statement. Here's my reasoning. The product is described as twice as strong than titanium alloys. Liquuidmetal is a zirconium alloy (earlier forms included titanium in the mix with zirconium). Anyway. As strength increase so does brittleness. Or the inventers are due for a Nobel Prize in mechanical engineering. What this alloy is, is an amorphous alloy, rather than a crystalline alloy. There are uses for both alloys, but there is always a trade-off between strength and brittleness. The harder it is, the more brittle it will get. Bronze is also an amorphous alloy. Without seeing Liquidmetal's microstructure, I really can't comment much on the alloy's properties. But, I'm guessing that the molding process includes some form of work-hardening on the metal as it cools. That would be the logical thing to do to increase the strength, while preventing too much crystalization. The alloys look to be in the class of superalloys, but I lack enough information to classify them.
The linked to video shows a ball to demonstrate it's ability to absorb shock, but anyone who's ever played with glass marbles knows that the shape has every thing to do with it. A round ball has distinctly different properties than a flat sheet. What the article fails to point out, is that the attempt to use this metal in the flat part of the golf clubs resulted in a useful life of about 40 hits, before shattering.
That's not to say they done some really cool engineering work, and Apple will be coming out with some very cool cases in the future. But the laws of Physics still apply.