Process Comparison

Amorphous Metal Molding uses a special alloy designed to have an amorphous atomic structure in a solid state. Small batches of feedstock are melted in a vacuum chamber to avoid contamination from Oxygen. The melted alloy is poured into the shot sleeve where a plunger pushes the material into a steel mold.

The Liquidmetal part comes out of the mold to net shape, great precision, and with full physical properties. Secondary processes to remove the part from the runner and overflows are necessary.

CNC Precision

Advanced Material Properties

Quick Project Start-up

Highly Scalable

Economical Pricing

Realtime In-Process Inspection

CNC Precision

Advanced Material Properties

Quick Project Start-up

Highly Scalable

Economical pricing

Realtime In-Process Inspection

Highly Scalable

Economical Pricing

Reduce Time to Market

Reduce Time to Market

Advanced Material Properties

CNC Precision

Highly Scalable

Economical Pricing

Reduce Time to Market

Reduce Time to Market

Advanced Material Properties

CNC Precision

Process Considerations

It is advantageous to reduce the number of manufacturing post processes required to produce a finished part. This will reduce development time, and maximize yield rates once in production.

Liquidmetal’s net shape molding allows you to check critical dimensions right out of the mold. A MIM part cannot be measured until after several post processes. This can result in substantial scrap and time lost if there was a problem upstream. These manufacturing trade-offs may be offset by part cost and the speed at which you can make parts in high volume.

Metal Injection Molding
(MIM)

Mixed Polymer and Alloy

Injection Molding

Green Part

De-Binding

Sintering (20% shrinkage)

Coining Finished MIM Part

Conventional Machining
(CNC)

Block Alloy

Machining Op 1

Machining Op 2

Finished Machined Part

Liquidmetal Process
(BMG)

Raw Alloy

Injection Molding

Finished Liquidmetal Part

Material Properties

A manufacturing process can influence the material properties of a part due to the resulting porosity or grain structure, but the main contributor to the properties is the type of material that can be used in a particular process. The melting temperature of a material and the final part geometry will dictate which manufacturing process to use.