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New Apple TV remote control/game controller would be a good application for BMG.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/27/apple-is-about-to-lay-down-its-tv-cards
Only issue is that Apple TV is a very low-margin device compared to the rest of AAPL's lineup and an $11 shot of LM105 would probably be the largest item on the BOM. On the other hand, these margins are so low because Apple treats the device as a loss leader for content sales.
Yes and yes.
I agree. Even if the temperature gradient complications could somehow be solved with isothermal hyperliquidus addition in a high-density immersion such as molten salt, 3D-printing of BMG will never be used for mass production. I would expect maybe to see custom orthopedics and rocket parts, etc.
Pretty fascinating paper on this part, though:
(Nothing to do with LQMT)
http://sem-proceedings.com/21i/sem.org-IMAC-XXI-Conf-s15p04-Dynamic-Instability-Chatter-During-Milling-Flexible-Workpiece.pdf
That article practically reads like an advertisement for BMG.
I'm envisioning a titanic machine that molds an entire jumbo jet fuselage out of Liquidmetal in 30 minutes.
Can you imagine the revolution in aircraft manufacture? Nearly every part of an aircraft is a super thin sheet of metal or composite.
Currently 0.1329
Also, if Vyper is above water, I assume he should be 0.0945, no?
Indeed, 3D-printing of BMG would only be desirable for rapid prototyping or the manufacture of parts that would be impossible to mold.
Could work particularly well if the part is submerged in a bath of gallium or a high-density molten salt solution for buoyancy, then heated inductively. Though I don't know what effect such immersion would have on the surface composition.
They've applied to patent the concept of 3D-printing with BMG, but I've read the patent and there is nothing in it to suggest that anyone has figured out a way to avoid crystallization between layers. In theory, conducting the entire process in an extremely controlled environment kept just above the liquidus temperature of the alloy formulation may afford enough viscosity in the material to quickly print a slightly "gooey" part and then flash freeze the entire thing after the last layer is added.
The 80g limitation is specific to the design of the current eMotion 110 machine and nothing to do with the material. If Apple wants larger parts, they need only design a larger IM machine.
3D printing will be extremely tricky with BMG due to temperature gradients. I will be fascinated to learn if/how someone actually figures out a functional method.
They still advertise availability of Vit1b/LM1b , but, they also use beryllium for plenty of products that have absolutely nothing to do with BMG.
Very strange. They make a big deal out of announcing a new Liquidmetal knife line (most interestingly with "a pure Liquidmetal edge permanently bonded to a steel knife body" and "Rockwell HRC +70" which I did not realize was attainable with our alloys) and then suddenly announce that they will not be able to use the Liquidmetal brand.
Knife purchasers continued:
1) WATTS. 2EA
2) Dano10 1 ea
3) Funkjt: 1 ea From knifecenter, first to receive the knife.
4) ARMillz: 1 ea
5) PigFight: 1 ea
6) longinus: 1 ea, direct, received 7/18
7)
Truthfully, I know nothing about the composition of this strut, but our alloys have a yield strength far superior to conventional steels and comparable to the lower end of maraging steel (1.5+ GPa). I would suspect that the unique elastic properties of BMG may render it a good structural material for applications experiencing extremely high levels of turbulence and vibration (rocket parts), while corrosion resistance should also make it a good candidate for low-temperature fuel system components.
If (big if) it is confirmed that the iPhone 6S is molded from BMG, my 2-month price target for LQMT is $0.95. The photos you linked don't show it well, but other supposed spy shots of the iP6S do show milling marks inside the case. It's possible that these marks are transferred from a mold, but it's more likely that the part is still machined.
Got my knife. It's beautiful.
The guy selling this "Turing Phone" publicly claims that he's using amorphous alloy because he's certain that Apple is on the verge of doing the same, and that soon any phone not made from BMG will be obsolete.
This is positive press for LQMT, regardless of whether it turns out to be a total scam, vaporware or an actual product.
Thanks for the review, mine is still in the mail.
I think, as some others had suggested, that the #1 practical selling point of this knife is going to be absolute immunity to corrosion for those who routinely use a knife in a wet/seawater/chemical environment.
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/turing-robotics-phone/
Apple is one of few American companies that actually enjoys tremendous influence in China. It could be very interesting to see if Apple decides to sue in China to defend our trademark from this Turing company.
Or perhaps the worst case scenario: could the Apple MTA be interpreted to suggest that LQMT is legally responsible to defend our own trademarks being misappropriated for an application that belongs exclusively to Apple? Being sued by Apple in US court while making a futile attempt to prevent a Chinese company stealing our (Apple's) IP would be a real rock and a hard place. I don't even want to think about that one.
It's definitely not "Liquidmetal®", though there is probably not much that we can do to stop them from using the trademark. However, since they do plan to sell to the U.S., we may be able to seek an injunction in lieu of royalties that we would be contractually forbidden to collect.
$3.00/share makes us a $1.4B company, and that's assuming no further dilution toward our authorized 700M shares. Ironically—with the tendency for the tech industry to place exorbitant valuations on tech IP and patent portfolios—if LQMT was a less tangible company, existing solely as an IP holding and R&D technology company, this sort of market cap would seem more likely. Unfortunately, since we have been and now are once again a manufacturer, the value of the company will be determined more heavily by our physical presence, contracts and production numbers. These numbers, currently, would not possibly support a $3 PPS.
I bet it makes a mean bottle opener.
While I trust your assessment and your expertise regarding uselessness as a combat knife, are you equally sure that no procurement officer would see value in issuing the MA-6 as a 3 oz., zero-maintenance backup/survival knife to be kept in a small pocket?
Put me down for 40,000 of those 10¢ shares.
It's a Chinese company that markets domestically. There is zero respect for foreign trademarks or intellectual property, and LQMT would have nearly no recourse to prevent them from misappropriating the mark, short of bribing Chinese officials to maybe put an end to it.
Well, their copy is a little outdated, to start:
I have not dug, but this would not be the first patent to describe overmolding a display device and electronics package with Liquidmetal. Familiar territory.
Very interesting indeed.
The plot thickens.