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Liquidmetal's Manufacturing Process Promises Rapid, Low-Cost Fabrication
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Add on that it needs to be cooled with the tears of a virgin and whooee... cost skyrockets.
Liquid metal vs Metal Injection Molding..
whats the difference. Metal Injection Molding has been around for a while ~1973.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_injection_molding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidmetal
whats the difference. Metal Injection Molding has been around for a while ~1973.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_injection_molding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidmetal
Doubt this will be in the iPhone Case Soon
Does anyone know how this material works as an antenna? Something tells me that its structure may not make it the best iPhone case material since they use the case as the antenna. My vote is for it to be on a mac book, mac mini, or new iTV before it shows up on the iPhone.
Does anyone know how this material works as an antenna? Something tells me that its structure may not make it the best iPhone case material since they use the case as the antenna. My vote is for it to be on a mac book, mac mini, or new iTV before it shows up on the iPhone.
Thunderhawks - my belief is that the post mortem on America's decline will drill down to a near collapse in values / failure to balance rights with responsibilities.
In a democracy, the population gets the government it elects / deserves.
We are stuck in an old and non effective model. The skills required to get elected and stay in office (fill in the blank...) are NOT the same skills required to fix our growing disasters.
In a democracy, the population gets the government it elects / deserves.
We are stuck in an old and non effective model. The skills required to get elected and stay in office (fill in the blank...) are NOT the same skills required to fix our growing disasters.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
It melts into shiny liquid puddles which then cool and reshape back into the original form. The real benefit is that it can reshape itself into other forms so the first Apple device that uses this will be able to morph into your Apple desktop, laptop, iPhone, iPod, iPad, iTV etc.
But it still won't run Flash or be able to morph into a BD player.
Injection molded metals aren't very durable and I believe this technology allows for much better tolerances, too. Apple's current lineup is all machined, so far as I know; certainly the unibody stuff is machined.
One thing no one has mentioned....apparently "liquid metal" is very brittle. It's strong, but it shatters like glass. And it's really expensive.
Agreed, which is why nothing ever changes and people who try will be voted out immediately.
I am actually from another country, so what I see here is sad to witness.
I figure this will happen in the Fall of 2011 or Jan/Feb of 2012, whenever Sandy Bridge makes its debut.
It may not take as much time to produce some additional machines as you might think. Time will tell.
Metal Injection Molding isnt durable?.... You do realize that MIM parts are used by nearly every firearm manufacturer in the world for some of the most precise pieces of firearms, the fire control parts.
MIM is 96-98% the strength of forged parts.
There are a few comments about competitors copying this, I doubt it, they've always just pumped out cheap plastic imitations and targeted low budget customers. They will never invest in something just to make their devices attractive, and their customers probably like to brag about not buying something for looks but rather for price.
That was probably for a different alloy.
There are a LOT of different base metals, and thousands of alloys per metal. i.e. I believe there are 8000 ways that steel is processed today, all slightly different for different applications.
To the sarcastic
Hey, this is industrial capitalism at its most creative. If this all works out right, this is just the kind of productivity growth that we got for the years (mostly) between 1880 and 1972. This is why were were the leading manufacturer in the world, with the best-paid workers.
Let's do it again in the new era.
If they get smart enough, they might even be able to keep the manufacture here, since labor is a small percentage of the cost if you're productive enough.
Hey, this is industrial capitalism at its most creative. If this all works out right, this is just the kind of productivity growth that we got for the years (mostly) between 1880 and 1972. This is why were were the leading manufacturer in the world, with the best-paid workers.
Let's do it again in the new era.
If they get smart enough, they might even be able to keep the manufacture here, since labor is a small percentage of the cost if you're productive enough.
it already being used for antennas for some verizons phone or wifi routers one of the two,
it already being used for antennas for some verizons phone or wifi routers one of the two,
in the casings of USB thumb drives, MP3 players, and mobile phones. It is also used in the antenna of the Verizon USB727 wireless modem, which is known for its excellent reception. Surprise, surprise, Apple already uses this novel technology in its newly released Magic Trackpad.
Shattering golf clubs tells me that even some of the strongest alloys have a week point with this technology,
I believe now Apple does have the exclusive rights to the use of this technology in electronic devices.
Okay.... that was from a materials management point of view... a 60% reduction on a component would certainly be termed 'tremendous' right? However the part might have previously cost $5 per 1000 and now it'll cost 2 per 1000. To the customer NO the savings will likely be invisible, however to the manufacturer who might need to order 40 million of that sucker ... yes they will certainly see a measured savings and with any electronic device EVERY penny is accounted for by management. So when you think... why didn't they add IR to the device it would only cost them .20 per phone.... The fact is if the designer recommending the added feature can't make a financially sound justification of the added part (parts) it's gonna get left out. The development of CE devices are usually watched over like a hawk and if the engineers can't hit a target cost on parts it might mean the difference between the device getting scrapped or going to production.
Although, things likely work just a tad different @ Apple given Steve's personal involvement in most/all of the major products Apple sells.. A part can get added or axed when he makes the call... Otherwise the designers are likely given a series of features and functions that must be present AT a given 'materials cost' if they can't do it they'll be a lot of explaining to do.
However, looking at the kinda stuff this technology can offer... Apple isn't necessarily in it for the savings but for the NEW OPTIONS that might have been physically impossible without it. Having an exclusive on anything that would allow for 'insert some feature/function' that would otherwise be impossible to reproduce means you will have a product that others simply can't build. Until alternate methods/materials turn up.
You have that right. Metallic Injection Molding is one of those big time disruptive technologies that is going to shift the machining and tooling industry. I really hope these guys cash in and don't end up like many suppressed, game changing, geniuses like Nicola Tesla, Preston Tucker and Philo Fransworth. That is their ahead of their time inventions bear fruit for others only to have plaques or books about them after passing.
Many have said the biggest opposition to this technology has been the International Brotherhood of Machinists. If you look at some of the public logs of their negotiations and contracts, "union shops" do not allow this type of technology in their shop for fear of the reduction of hours.
Unfortunately it is just like fifty years ago with many craftsman guilds forbidding the plastic injection molding into their shops.
Some things never change.
The Liquid Metal folks claim to have a new alloy that doesn't have the brittleness demonstrated by their ill fated golf clubs. Check out the little SIM removal tool Apple shipped with the iPhone 3G, it's supposed to be liquid metal. I have mine here in my desk, I can bend it a long way without it breaking, and it then it springs back to its original shape. It also has a very nice surface finish, all in all, it should be a good material for a case.