Industries and Applications

Advantages of amorphous metals: Weight reduction and production within tight tolerances

Application: joints, mounting components and turbine blades

High stability and hardness combined with weight savings are key requirements for materials used in the aerospace industry. Lightweight amorphous materials are twice as strong as conventional crystalline, titanium-based alloys and are therefore ideal for aerospace components. The special material properties of amorphous metals also allow the design of components to be optimized. As a result, additional weight savings of up to 20 percent can be achieved compared to equivalent titanium components.

Advantages of amorphous metals: lower modulus of elasticity and more corrosion-resistant than conventional metals, as well as biocompatible and MRI-compatible

Application: Sharp, durable scalpels and minimally invasive instruments and implants

Materials for medical implants must be biocompatible and corrosion resistant. Pure metals such as platinum, niobium, tantalum or titanium are best suited for this purpose, but in their pure state they are often not hard enough, and in the form of alloys their biocompatibility is reduced at the grain boundaries.

Amorphous metals, on the other hand, have a high strength (>2000 MPa), excellent elasticity and are biocompatible according to ISO 10993-5 and ISO 10993-12 (confirmed by cytotox tests of the University of Graz). In addition, their E-modulus of ~ 85 GPa is similar to the mechanical properties of human bone. They are therefore ideally suited for processing into medical implants.

Advantages of amorphous metals: Extremely strong, high hardness, low density and elastic

Application: Stable suspensions and mounting elements, wear-resistant gears and drive components, parts for electric motors, decorative elements and haptic components

Whether it's gears, engine components or rotors: Wherever material can be saved, weight is reduced. This means lower fuel costs and pollutant emissions as well as longer ranges.

Amorphous metals have a low density but are also extremely strong (fatigue strength of 400 N/mm²). With a flexural fatigue strength of 2,500 MPa, they are twice as strong as steel. The special material properties make it possible to change the design of components and make them thinner, more filigree or smaller - without the component losing stability. This not only saves weight, but is also an enormous advantage for parts that are subject to heavy loads and wear quickly, such as suspensions and mounting elements as well as shafts and transmission parts. The high surface quality of the material enables scratch-resistant decorative elements with a pleasant feel for the interior.

Advantages of amorphous metals: High surface quality and polish ability

Application: Jewelry and abrasion resistant watch components

Lifestyle products create an emotional connection to their customers. Surfaces of high quality and scratch resistance are therefore essential for lifestyle products such as watches and jewelry.

Advantages of amorphous metals: high elasticity, low damping, magnetic permeability, corrosion resistance

Application:components for shock transmission, sensors and membranes for speakers, springs and gear parts in robotics

Membranes in sensors have to be highly sensitive in order to deliver exact measured values. At the same time, they must become smaller and smaller in the course of miniaturization - just like springs and gear parts in robotics.

Amorphous metals are extremely elastic and, in the form of membranes, ensure that sensors are more sensitive than with conventional materials. Due to their material properties, they can also be manufactured in very small sizes. In tools that transmit shocks, amorphous metals transmit impulses optimally due to the combination of great hardness and elasticity. Their resistance to corrosion and wear ensures a longer service life for components that are exposed to high abrasion.

Advantages of amorphous metals: high strength, high elasticity, anti-allergic

Application: guitar bridges, mouthpieces for wind instruments

Whether it is the bridge on a stringed instrument or the mouthpiece on a wind instrument: the optimal sound transmission is decisive for a musical instrument. Due to their elasticity, amorphous metals transmit the stroke of a tone more directly and last longer. This leads to a better sound transmission overall.

The high strength of amorphous metals also enables completely new designs. For example, bionic structures can be created in additive manufacturing to further optimize the sound and realize individual designs. Furthermore, the components do not have to be chrome-plated or otherwise coated in a further step, as the material itself is anti-allergic.