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One to ponder...
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Posted by: SFO
This is an interesting one, I think.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/scienc...l.ap/index.html
and here
http://www.liquidmetal.com/
Posted by: bclapham
titanium, copper, nickel, zirconium and beryllium
nice bit of chemistry!
Posted by: Kawierider
hmmmmmm, lets see, the wear resistance for pistons cylinders and bearings...........and elasticity and rigidity in one for handlebars and levers............anyone want to start a business?
Tim
Posted by: Shawn Mc
From what I read and heard, pistons and basically most internal parts wont be cut from this stuff, it starts to liquify at 750 degrees. That aint gonna work. But they seem to think they'll be able to improve that spec. Noone seems to be talking about wieght. Whats the wieght spec I wonder, in comparison to aluminum?
Posted by: IrishEKU
The AMA isn't going to be happy when it has to revise it's weight restrictions(I think in the 125 class its 213lbs?). If this stuff is really lighter than aluminum and titanium frames and engine cases are going to get light!
Unfortunatly the jugs an pistons are going to still have to be made of sterner stuff. Due to that pesky 700degree mark. Also if it is true about being able to cast that stuff down to tolerances of one micron with out shrinkage, all the money saved by manufacturers on milling is going to go into the price of this stuff: 10-15 bucks a pound! Hoby Shibit! They should have called it liquid Gold!
Posted by: Norm
Definitely cool. I heard a talk on these materials a couple of years back. Compared with most metals, they have some outstanding properties, but also certain limitations. I'm curious to see what people dream up to use this stuff for (hopefully it won't just be for golf clubs) and glad to see that there already appears to be some commercial success for this relatively new class of metals.
The thing that really amazes me about these is that they are fairly tough even tough they have ridiculously high strength. Usually when you monkey around with the structure of a metal to increase its strength, the tradeoff is almost always decreased toughness. But the toughness of this alloy (in the amorphous state) is in the range of most engineering metals.
The density isn't that low, so don't get your hopes up about making lightweight goodies from this stuff (unless you redesign components to use alot less material). The website said the density is in between steel and titanium, which makes it about twice as dense as aluminum. It ain't gonna replace carbon fiber for that "my bike is lighter than yours" look.
Otherwise, the downsides are the fairly low softening temperature and poor mechanical properties under certain conditions. The biggie is that the toughness drops to nearly nothing as soon as this stuff starts to crystallize. So I'd say trying to weld it would be a really bad idea. I've also read that fatigue is poor in a corrosive environment, but it looks like there is a fair amount of work currently being done in this area.
Norm
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