Bob...as I understand it...part of the problem was the inability to (perceived and/or real) have large scale manufacturing of Liquidmetal. This problem was solved with bringing in all the partners from sourcing the materials to injection molding machines to production capabilities.
Some of the other issues are what the Apple patents fixed - making lots of material in sheets and uncovering new uses like batteries, as one example.
These patents are relatively new so they have not had much time for application.
Yes, it is more expensive than titanium, but as was pointed out on the last conference call it is "Nearest-to-Net" molded so you can use less of the material than you would use for Titanium (you would have to machine the Titanium from a larger piece) and there is a labor cost you would save on machining (very little finishing needed).
So the biggest issue is what is hardest with any company - CHANGE. Have you ever worked for a company - the larger the worse when it comes to CHANGE - and tried to effect CHANGE? If so, and anyone who has ever suggested a better way to do something gets a lot of push back - "but this is the way we have ALWAYS done it":) Those of you who are in a corporate structure know what I mean.
Now imagine the change necessary to toss out your OLD manufacturing structure - suppliers, contractors, machining, jobs, etc... to begin this "NEW", "UNTESTED" method of creating your product (requiring some faith and also a potential large capital expenditure that needs to be justified...otherwise called a "career limiting move" if you are wrong and you are the one making the decision).
So I would say the BIGGEST factor right now is just that...CHANGE, since it seems many of the old problems have been solved.
CHANGE is hard...especially when you are dealing with people's jobs and a corporate structure.
