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Apple's "special event" scheduled for next week (and probably heralding the arrival of a new iPod Touch) is intended to excite consumers, but it is yesterday's Apple news that's sure to capture the imagination of industrial designers.
As reported by Cult of Mac, Apple has or will soon have "the most advanced manufacturing machine on the planet," a prototype injection molding machine designed to accommodate Liquidmetal, the new material recently licensed by Apple. (The photo above is a "similar" machine made by the same company, Switzerland's Buhler Group.)
What this machine can do, from a production method perspective, is make parts like this in a single shot:
While that may not seem terribly sexy to the layperson, a designer or engineer could tell you that that part would typically require a host of processes to produce it--cutting, drilling, threading, milling, not to mention the finishing processes like deburring--whereas the new process can pump it out of a mold in one go, just like with plastic injection molding. The reduced number of processes and lack of machining needed translates to an enormous time and cost savings; it's like the difference between doing a batch of laundry by hand, then hang-drying and ironing each piece, versus throwing the whole load in a combo washer-dryer and hitting the button.
We can't wait to see what Ive and co., after playing around with this machine and future versions of it, are able to produce. Read more about Liquidmetal and its manufacturing processes at the full article.
Comments
Question: If it is liquid "metal", should the process still be called "die casting"? Or is "injection moulding" correct?
Liquidmetal is a brand name for an amorphous metal - it doesn't have a crystalline structure. That means that molded parts don't have the typical disadvantages of other cast metals compared to the forged and/or machined forms - it behaves the same weather cast or not.
That said, don't think that liquidmetal is a new product either - it's been around for years now, in everything from golf club faces (where it performed very well... until it shattered) to skis and tennis rackets to satellites to cell phones and usb flash drives to the iphone3 SIM ejector tool.
Cool tech, and the metal itself is quite interesting, but like anything else it has its own share of limitations.
now if only someone could come up with a instant automated cooling and reheating process, and a core 2 match. (another step towards R.A.I.W.D.)
Astounding...this could be a real "secret sauce" for their growth strategy and products...
I do see a couple risks: 1) getting the thing to be reliable (six sigma and Taguchi method design of experiments can help with that) and 2) that Apple does not go with some "too ahead of it's time" design just because they can...
--S
I can't find anything regarding RAIWD...
Anyways, this link to Omega watches was provided in the comments below. The video is a nice description of an application of the material. I think it would be easier for people to think of this material as a glass that happens to be a metal. Note that in order to get the amorphous structure (no crystal structure) is that they have to rapidly cool the material after molding. That requires the component to be designed with thin walls to conduct the heat out fast enough. It just so happens that Apple needs a thin strong material. This will produce some spectacular products in the near future.
http://www.omegawatches.com/spirit/watchmaking/liquidmetal
Kinda ignorant here....what does RAIWD stand for?
Umm... Are the reporters going all gaga about MIM / die casting with a better version of moldable alloy? This has been around for many years, am I missing something here, or is everyone mesmorized just cause it has Apple attached to it