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The superplastic forming of bulk metallic glasses

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Abstract

Superplastic forming (SPF) is introduced in this article as a net-shape processing method for bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), commercially known as Liquidmetal® alloys. This method decouples fast cooling and forming of the BMG. Forming takes place in the supercooled liquid region, where the BMG exists as a highly viscous liquid and increases its fluidity with increasing temperature. The SPF method is very similar to techniques used for processing thermoplastics. In this work, a simple flow law is used to quantify the forming ability and to estimate both the potential and the limitations of the SPF method. This process is especially well suited to replicate small features and thin sections with high aspect ratios, which makes this process appropriate for microelectromechanical systems, nano- and microtechnology, jewelry, medical and optical applications, and data storage.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Liquidmetal Technologies, Lake Forest, California

    Jan Schroers (director of research, visiting associate)

  2. the Keck Laboratory of Engineering Materials, the California Institute of Technologies, Pasadena, California

    Jan Schroers (director of research, visiting associate)

Authors
  1. Jan Schroers
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Additional information

For more information, contact Jan Schroers, Liquidmetal Technologies, 25800 Commerce Drive, Suite 100, Lake Forest, CA 92630; (949) 206-8063; fax (949) 206-8088; e-mail jan.schroers@liquidmetal.com.

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Schroers, J. The superplastic forming of bulk metallic glasses. JOM 57, 35–39 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-005-0093-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-005-0093-2

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