Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

[joshuaeyu]

Liquid Metal: the upstart in the new metal materials, has great industrialization prospects

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.qianinfo.com%2Fwz%2Fdsgl%2F482.html&sandbox=1

At the Huawei conference, Yu Chengdong, CEO of consumer business, introduced that Huawei Mate XS further upgraded the mechanical structure and continued the back-to-back eagle wing folding design. The hinge system has more than 100 devices. The use of Zirconium-based Liquid Metal and other materials greatly improves the strength of the hinge, which is stronger than Titanium alloy. 30% higher.

LiquidMetal (combined by Liquid and Metal) and Vitreloy are commercial names of a series of amorphous metal alloys developed by the California Institute of Technology research team. The LiquidMetal is currently organized by the team LiquidMetal Technologies Inc. conducts marketing and is the company's product name and brand name.

The Liquid Metal alloy material has a unique non-crystalline molecular structure. The reason why it is called Liquid Metal is because it has a low melting point. In addition to this, its biggest advantage lies in its ability to shape after melting. Because the physical characteristics of its solidification process are completely different from ordinary metals, its casting process is more similar to plastics rather than metals, which can be more easily created into products of various forms.

Liquid Metal is a large class of multi-metal alloy materials that are liquid at room temperature. It has excellent fluidity and physical and chemical stability, and is easy to form. It is a subversive new material that surpasses traditional materials such as Copper, Silver, and Aluminum. It is a human development. The second revolution using metal materials. Liquid Metal has many unique properties, such as excellent magnetic properties, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high strength, hardness and toughness. Because of its excellent performance and simple process, it has become the focus of research and development in the material science community at home and abroad since the 1980s.

Zirconium-based Liquid Metal is one of the main Liquid Metal in practical use in the market. Zirconium-based Liquid Metal may become the mainstream application material of mobile phones in the future, and the demand will increase rapidly. Industry insiders predict that in the next 2-3 years, the consumer electronics industry is expected to apply Liquid Metals on a large scale.

Zirconium-based amorphous alloys have not only been used in Apple mobile phone card holders, but also in domestic mobile phones such as Huawei, some small pieces such as Cato have also been made of amorphous alloys. At present, the main relevant manufacturers are Liquidmetal in the United States, Eontec and BYD in my country. In addition, in some military equipment, amorphous alloys have been used as reinforcement coatings for many years.

Liquid Metal is a new upstart in metal materials and a rare high-margin product in the metal field. It may gradually replace existing materials in the future and produce breakthrough products that can be widely used in Consumer Electronics, Lithium batteries, and 3D Printing, Flexible Intelligent Machines, Vascular Robots and other fields.

The strength of Liquid Metal is more than 10 times that of Magnesium-Aluminum alloy, more than twice that of stainless steel and Titanium alloy; the hardness is also more than 10 times that of Magnesium-Aluminum alloy, and more than 1.5 times that of Stainless Steel and Titanium alloy. The density is moderate, lighter than Stainless Steel, and slightly heavier than Titanium alloy. The above characteristics determine that Liquid Metal becomes the third generation of new materials for 3C products after engineering plastics and light alloys.

A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is poised to take off. One of the breakthroughs is new materials. Liquid Metal, as one of the super materials that will lead the future of high-tech competition, is expected to spawn trillion-scale blue oceans.

At present, there are three main directions for Liquid Metal technology reserves. The first one is ribbon-shaped, which is relatively mature, the second is Bulk Amorphous, and the other is to make powder. The powder has two uses, one is the surface coating, which has the functions of wear resistance and anticorrosion, and the other is 3D printing.

Compared with (MIM) powder metallurgy, powder metallurgy (MIM) has a shrinkage rate of 22% to 24%, and the lateral shrinkage is different from the vertical shrinkage. The shrinkage rate of liquid metal is slightly different, which is about 2.5 to 1,000 parts per thousand. It is very controllable at around 3.5%, so the repeatability of Liquid Metal is very good.

Wide range of Liquid Metal applications

The current examples of Liquid Metal applications are: bearings, hinges, SIM card holders/SIM card needles, clamps, golf club heads, watch parts, etc. Due to too few global suppliers, large-scale applications have not yet been formed. After Consumer Electronics, Liquid Metal will continue to be used in military, industrial, robotic, medical, environmental protection, aviation and other fields, with unlimited prospects.

Liquid Metal due to its superior material properties, high-end watch brands such as Swatch and Omega have used LiquidMetal in their products since 2009. The numbers and scales in the watch are made of LiquidMetal, and its Amorphous structure allows it to be perfectly attached to the ceramic bezel without the slightest gap. Zirconium Zr is an important element of Liquid Metal alloys and an important element of Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) ceramic materials. Because of the excellent hardness of the two materials, the bezel is perfectly smooth and resistant to wear and corrosion.

In the field of Consumer Electronics, Liquid Metal was first well known to Apple as a SIM card pin, because its high hardness, corrosion resistance, and high wear resistance are far superior to ordinary metals. Some terminals of domestic OPPO, VIVO, Huawei and other companies have used Liquid Metal SIM card trays and shafts. With the maturity of the Liquid Metal bulk molding process, Liquid Metal is expected to be used in batches in intelligent terminal protection frames and internal structural parts, and the Liquid Metal era will soon be forthcoming.

In addition to Consumer Electronics, in the future, the technology of Liquid Metal forming in large blocks and increasing the ratio of non-crystallinity will be further improved. As a new material, the application range of Liquid Metal is extremely broad. In theory, any complex structural parts in the fields of strength, hardness, wear resistance, radiation resistance, insulation, high elasticity, etc. can be replaced by Liquid Metal, so military, industrial, robot, medical, environmental protection, aviation and other industries will find Liquid Metal; large number of application scenarios.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that Liquid Metal technology makes it possible for damaged metals to repair themselves on a large scale. Its ability to heal damaged nerve tissue has also begun to receive attention. Some studies claim that metals can maintain normal body temperature in the human body, and Liquid Metal can be used in Medical operations. This innovative technology may be used in the future to repair human nerve tissue and benefit patients.

Liquid Metal has great industrial prospects

Liquid Metal is currently in the initial stage of the industry and has great industrialization prospects. Liquid metal is a high-tech material with excellent physical, chemical and mechanical properties. It is a key material in high-tech fields such as electricity, electronics, computers, and communications. It has a large market demand, and has a very broad industrialization prospect. Applications can drive a number of related fields of technological progress and coordinated development.

In electronic technology, Liquid Metal has effectively promoted the development of electronic components towards high frequency, high efficiency, energy saving, and miniaturization due to its excellent physical properties such as high efficiency, low loss, and high magnetic permeability. It can partially replace traditional Silicon Steel, Materials such as Permalloy and Ferrite. It can be predicted that Liquid Metal will occupy a very important position in future electronic technology.

Eontec is a global industrial leader in the field of Liquid Metal, with the world's largest production line for producing Zirconium-based amorphous alloys. According to the announcement, the company is a pioneer in the research and development of Liquid Metal in the industry, with integrated manufacturing capabilities from materials to equipment and design, and is the only company in the world that applies Liquid Metal to the Automotive industry.

Mass production of bulk amorphous began in 2018, and future orders are expected to continue to grow. First, the company's Liquid Metal products have cooperated with relevant customers in the fields of new energy vehicles, 5G communications, consumer electronics and other fields. The Liquid Metal Face ID brackets have been supplied in batches to well-known domestic mobile phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, OPPO, Huawei, etc.; the company's 5G base station products include filters and heat dissipation housings. At present, we are further cooperating with Chinese communication customers and special Customers such as Sila, Samsung, Lansi Technology, and ABB have established cooperative relations.

As a basic and pillar strategic industry, new materials are the precursor of high and new technology. Countries around the world attach great importance to it and have issued policies to vigorously support industrial development.