Liquidmetal Technologies Inc., Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., has developed the Liquidmetal Hybrid Knife, manufactured of LM105 amorphous alloy by the Liquidmetal process. The 5.25-inch-long hybrid knife embodies a geometry that is not practical to produce with any other metalforming process. A 0.0005-inch fit between the blade and protector is made possible with the ultra-precise Liquidmetal process that can produce parts with features down to eight ten-thousands of an inch.
The barrel hinge implemented utilizing Python programming results in an easy-to-assemble and disassemble two-piece knife with no weak points throughout the open-and-close rotation. The alloy provides as-molded 563 Vickers hardness (25% greater than 17-4PH stainless steel), 1524 MPa yield strength (twice that of titanium), and 1.8% elasticity (four times that of hardened 420 stainless steel). Cultivated by an abundance of scientific data, the hybrid knife and Liquidmetal process stand in a league of their own. Not to be overlooked, the artistic and distinctive design brings a powerful process and set of material properties to life.
Liquidmetal also announces that it has shipped a pre-production order to CoNextions Medical for a key component to be used for suture-based tendon repairs. The initial parts delivery will be used to complete various tests, and will be followed by a full production shipment currently scheduled for early 2016. This delivery represents the ongoing manufacturing solutions for CoNextions design efforts that are taking advantage of the Liquidmetal materials and molding technology.
In addition, Liquidmetal has received its formal ISO 9001:2008 certification, adding an important quality accreditation to the company.
“Our business has a strong commitment to ongoing quality and customer satisfaction. Receiving our ISO certification exemplifies that,” said Paul Hauck, Vice President of World-Wide Sales and Marketing. “Our ISO certification will help build customer confidence in our attention to quality.”
“The Liquidmetal organization did an admirable job implementing the ISO 9001 standard and passing its certification audit in an impressive 9 months,” said Tom Steipp, CEO and President of Liquidmetal Technologies. “Achieving this result was no small undertaking. Every individual in the company played a critical role and it’s a testament to the organization’s focus on quality.”
