NC State University Researchers have now demonstrated the ability to create amorphous metal, or metallic glass, alloys on large scales using 3-D printing technology, opening the door to a variety of applications – such as more efficient electric motors, better wear-resistant materials, higher strength materials, and lighter weight structures.
Unfortunately, making metallic glass requires rapid cooling to prevent the crystalline structure from forming. Historically, that meant researchers could only cast metallic glasses into small thicknesses.
For example, amorphous iron alloys could be cast no more than a few millimeters thick. That size limitation is called an alloy’s critical casting thickness.
The technique works by applying a laser to a layer of metal powder, melting the powder into a solid layer that is only 20 microns thick. The “build platform” then descends 20 microns, more powder is spread onto the surface, and the process repeats itself.
Because the alloy is formed a little at a time, it cools quickly – retaining its amorphous qualities. However, the end result is a solid, metallic glass object – not an object made of laminated, discrete layers of the alloy.
News Source: https://news.ncsu.edu/2018/03/metallic-glass-bulk-2018/
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