3 ms·

In the use cases imagined for this material, the cost of the base metals is basically irrelevant. Something like a jet turbine blade might have maybe 10$ worth

In the use cases imagined for this material, the cost of the base metals is basically irrelevant. Something like a jet turbine blade might have maybe 10$ worth of material, but after machining and a hundred other steps is worth 100x that ammount. A heatshield for a hypersonic missile? Maybe a kilo of copper, but perhaps a 1m+ purchase price

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nine_k 2y ago
More affordable price seriously widens the range of applications, and thus the total addressable market. Not using hazardous substances like berillium additionally helps.
- sandworm101 2y ago
  But it doesnt look very affordable. The process for making this stuff seems very involved. I dont think this will ever be a cheaper option, rather it will be something that offers new abilities unlike any existing material. So it will be for new use cases, not displacing existing materials.
  - lazide 2y ago
    Not using beryllium will dramatically increases available uses, and it should be much cheaper after development. Even firearm suppressors, high voltage electrical parts (especially in specific areas in ultra high power motors and switch contactors), etc.
  - Beretta_Vexee 2y ago
    No material is cheap when it has just been developed. Titanium alloys were science fiction in the 1980s, and now I can find titanium camping forks and mugs for €10. Special steels can also cost a fortune (powder metallurgy, superduplex). There are many more foundries and workshops producing copper alloys than nickel alloys. The supply chain is much simpler and more diverse. Copper recycling is a reality, but nickel alloy recycling is less so. Significant efforts are being made to reduce dependence on rare metals. No one really knows which ones will actually break through in the future. But having more options is always a good thing.
imtringued 2y ago
This isn't true actually. Aerospace grade aluminum, for example, is much more expensive and since you want to minimize weight with ortho- and iso-grids, you're throwing at least 50% of the material away. Another problem is that you not only need to consider the "base metal" of the part you're cutting, but also the cost of the tools that do the cutting (ignore the machine itself). You're consuming a lot of expensive endmills to get rid of the material.

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nine_k 2y ago

More affordable price seriously widens the range of applications, and thus the total addressable market. Not using hazardous substances like berillium additionally helps.

sandworm101 2y ago
But it doesnt look very affordable. The process for making this stuff seems very involved. I dont think this will ever be a cheaper option, rather it will be something that offers new abilities unlike any existing material. So it will be for new use cases, not displacing existing materials.
- lazide 2y ago
  Not using beryllium will dramatically increases available uses, and it should be much cheaper after development. Even firearm suppressors, high voltage electrical parts (especially in specific areas in ultra high power motors and switch contactors), etc.
- Beretta_Vexee 2y ago
  No material is cheap when it has just been developed. Titanium alloys were science fiction in the 1980s, and now I can find titanium camping forks and mugs for €10. Special steels can also cost a fortune (powder metallurgy, superduplex). There are many more foundries and workshops producing copper alloys than nickel alloys. The supply chain is much simpler and more diverse. Copper recycling is a reality, but nickel alloy recycling is less so. Significant efforts are being made to reduce dependence on rare metals. No one really knows which ones will actually break through in the future. But having more options is always a good thing.

imtringued 2y ago

This isn't true actually. Aerospace grade aluminum, for example, is much more expensive and since you want to minimize weight with ortho- and iso-grids, you're throwing at least 50% of the material away. Another problem is that you not only need to consider the "base metal" of the part you're cutting, but also the cost of the tools that do the cutting (ignore the machine itself). You're consuming a lot of expensive endmills to get rid of the material.