管理员
|
潮科技 | Allite推出革命性超级镁合金,这会是碳纤维材料的低价替代品么?
在工业生产中,当需要同时满足对于产品的重量以及强度的要求时,碳纤维一般会成为各大生产商的第一选择。重量轻、强度高、抗腐蚀,这三大特性使得碳纤维看起来是一种非常理想的工业生产材料。然而,制造碳纤维高昂的成本常常使得碳纤维产品的价格不那么亲民。 作为一家成立不久的公司,Allite抓住这一机遇推出了超级镁合金(Allite® Super MagnesiumTM )作为其进入市场的第一款材料产品。和传统的碳纤维材料相比,Allite公司的优质超级镁合金具有相同的强度以及重量,但却有着更低的价格,是碳纤维材料的良好替代品;同时,与铝相比,超级镁合金不仅更加坚硬和柔韧,而且在重量上也更具优势。 ©锐景创意 除了性能上的优越表现之外,超级镁合金还是一种更加环保的生产材料。在传统的碳纤维生产工艺中会产生大量的有毒废气和废液,例如氰化氢和一氧化碳;同时生产过程中产生的粉尘以及高耗能的特点也使得碳纤维称不上是一种绿色环保的材料。相比之下,超级镁合金则更具优势。Allite公司称这款材料为100%可重复利用,任何回收的超级镁合金都可以直接被转变成金属镁从而再次利用;同时,生产超级镁合金的耗能仅为生产碳纤维或铝合金的40%。作为地球上第八丰富的元素之一,镁的开采和加工也更加简单,因而镁被全球公认为最具环保性和可持续性的金属材料。 ©Digital Trends 以超级镁合金为材料的自行车 早在2006年,超级镁合金就已经在现实中有所应用,不过都局限在军事和航空航天生产方面。随着Allite公司研发其公司专利的超级镁合金,这种新型材料也在今年九月的美国国际自行车及零部件展览会上完成了商业首秀。和碳纤维产品相比,超级镁合金所制造的商品的价格大约是前者的一半。如此巨大的价格优势加上超级镁合金卓越的性能表现使得这种材料对于其他的生产商来说极具诱惑力,而Allite公司也有望借这款新产品占领可观数量的市场份额,在和传统的生产材料的竞争中占据先机。而现实情况也印证了这一点,随着新产品的推出,各大企业也纷纷向Allite寻求合作,其中不仅仅有自行车和户外用品行业,也包括汽车、手机制造和其他众多领域的公司。对于像Allite这样刚刚起步的公司来说,这是一个非常良好的开端。 ‘Super magnesium’ may be the next wonder material for outdoor gear When it comes to manufacturing outdoor gear or cycling products, carbon fiber has long been seen as a bit of a wonder material. Lightweight, incredibly strong, and resistant to corrosion, the polymer material has made its way into everything from bike frames and wheel hubs, to ski poles, camping chairs, and even tent stakes. The downside of carbon fiber is its cost of production of course, which often drives the price of consumer goods made from the material to prohibitively expensive levels. Now, a company called Allite is promising a more affordable alternative to carbon fiber that could deliver similar levels of performance at a substantially lower price, while being more eco-friendly, too. First developed way back in 2006, super magnesium remained available for use by only the military and the aerospace industry until just a few years ago. That’s when Allite started developing its own proprietary version of the material, which made its official commercial debut at Interbike this past September. Since then, the company has been inundated with requests for more information, along with pitches for potential partnerships. Those inquiries have come not only from within the cycling and outdoor space, but the auto industry, cellphone manufacturers, and numerous others. Allite president Bruno Maier tells Digital Trends, “Within 30 days of announcing Super Magnesium we had more than 100 leads for potential partners.” He went on to add, “Frankly, it’s been a bit overwhelming considering we’re still a small startup.” Considering the performance levels that Allite is promising the response from manufacturers isn’t all that surprising. According to Maier, super magnesium is not only stiffer and stronger than aluminum, but is 33 percent lighter as well. And since its core component – magnesium – is the eighth most abundant material on the planet, it is much less expensive to produce. Magnesium can literally be found just about everywhere, which means that on average, products made with this alloy are roughly 50 percent less expensive to build compared to those same products made using carbon fiber. While impressive, the performance characteristics of super magnesium aren’t the only compelling elements in the story that Allite has to share. In addition to being strong, light, and inexpensive to create, the alloy is also much more environmentally friendly compared to other manufacturing materials. The company says that its metal is 100-percent recyclable, too, turning directly back into pure magnesium during the recycling process. Additionally, the material can be produced using just 40 percent of the energy required to create carbon fiber or aluminum, which should only serve to make it more intriguing to manufacturers. So when can we expect to see products that start to use Super Magnesium and just who will be making them? On those subjects Maier is more tight lipped. “We have NDAs in place to protect ourselves and our partners at the moment,” he tells us. “But expect some familiar ‘A-level’ brands to begin using our product soon.” Maier estimates that the first products to use Allite’s new wonder alloy will begin hitting the market in the next six to nine months. He doesn’t specifically say what form those products will take, but considering the official debut of the material was at a bike show, it seems likely that we’ll see inroads into that industry first. After that, the sky is the limit for this promising new wonder alloy. For more information about super magnesium and its properties visit the Allite website. 参考资料: [1]:"Super magnesium’ may be the next wonder material for outdoor gear"; https://www.digitaltrends.com/outdoors/allite-super-magnesium/ [2]:Allite公司官网;alliteinc.com ALLITE® SUPER MAGNESIUM™ FROM CLASSIFIED TO BRANDIFIED In development since 2006, our superior ALLITE®SUPER MAGNESIUM™ alloy had only been authorized for use in classified defense and aerospace application…until now.This premier alloy from ALLITE® INC. can be used in a variety of applications, from high-tech smartphone case architecture to high-powered locomotive engine components. Weighing 30% less than aluminum by volume and being both stiffer and stronger pound for pound, ALLITE SUPER MAGNESIUM has incredible potential in applications where weight, performance and efficiency are critical, particularly those where components need to be strong and ductile, and have specific thermal or electrical properties while still being easy to fabricate. ALLITE SUPER MAGNESIUM represents a revolutionary step forward in the field of material science and is the premier magnesium alloy being branded, positioned, and supported for mass consumer awareness. BJ@边界计划 • 2018-11-24 • 前沿技术 36氪边界计划系列的第8篇文章 新型优质镁合金成为代替传统碳纤维材料的有力竞争者,促进降低产品价格、改进生产技术 https://36kr.com/p/5163657.html http://alliteinc.com/super-magnesium/ |