Molding and De-Molding of Metallic Glass Using Non-Disposable Molds
OwnerJan Schroers, Rodrigo Miguel Ojeda Mota +2inventors
InventorsJan Schroers, Rodrigo Miguel Ojeda Mota, Jittisa Ketkaew, Punnathat Bordeenithikasem
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Abstract
A reusable mold comprising a flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert comprising one or more mold cavities removably coupled to a support mold and a method of making the reusable mold. The support mold is removable from the flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert without macroscopic elastic flexing or deforming of the support mold. The reusable mold may be used for molding one or more bulk metallic glass parts and the one or more molded bulk metallic glass parts may be released from the flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert by elastically flexing the flexible mold insert.
Claims33
A reusable mold comprising:
- a flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert comprising one or more mold cavities removably coupled to a support mold;
- wherein the support mold is removable from the flexible hulk metallic glass mold insert without macroscopic deforming of the support mold.
A method of making a reusable mold comprising one or more mold cavities, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) deforming a bulk metallic glass feedstock against a surface of a master mold to replicate a surface of the master mold and create a flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert comprising one or more mold cavities;
- b) removably coupling the flexible bulk metallic glass insert to a support mold, and
- c) removing the master mold from the flexible bulk metallic glass insert after the support mold has been removed from the insert mold;
- wherein the support mold is coupled to a surface of the flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert opposite the replicated surface;
- and
- wherein the support mold is removable from the flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert without macroscopic elastic flexing or deforming of the support mold.
A method of molding a bulk metallic glass part using a reusable mold comprising a flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert removably coupled to a support mold, the flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert comprising one or more mold cavities, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. heating a bulk metallic glass to be molded into its supercooled liquid region;
- b. disposing the bulk metallic glass into the one or more mold cavities in the flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert;
- c. cooling the bulk metallic glass to solidify the bulk metallic glass within the one or more mold cavities and create the molded bulk metallic glass part;
- d. removing the support mold from the flexible bulk metallic glass insert without macroscopic flexing of the support mold;
- and
- e. releasing the one or more molded bulk metallic glass parts from the one or more mold cavities in the flexible bulk metallic glass mold insert by elastically flexing the flexible mold insert.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.