BAM Articles
# | Web Link |
---|---|
1 |
![]() Materials scientist, Bruce Cook, discusses the super hard, low friction, and lubricious alloy know as BAM (Boron-Aluminum-Magnesium). BAM was discovered by Bruce Cook and his team at the Ames Laboratory. |
2 |
![]() New Tech Ceramics, Inc. has partnered with MA Ford of Davenport, Iowa to launch a product line of BAM coated cutting tools called CERAedge. |
3 |
![]() "BAM isn’t like most superhard materials, such as diamond, that have a simple, regular and symmetrical crystalline structure. Instead, BAM’s structure is complex, has low symmetry, and often has a few atoms missing. As for its slipperiness, Cook speculates that boron oxidation takes place on the surface, and this thin film of boron oxide reacts with the water vapor in the air to make the coating slippery." |
4 |
![]() New Tech has recently formed a new partnership with the Quad-City Manufacturing Lab using BAM in a variety of applications. |
5 |
![]() Recent study conducted by Eaton and the US Department of Energy comparing BAM coatings with TiAlN coatings. Found that AlMgB14 coated tools exhibited a 60% improvement over similarly applied TiAlN thin films. Furthermore, AlMgB14-based coatings in these particular tests lasted twice as long than their TiAlN counterparts... |
6 |
![]() "A superhard substance that is more slippery than Teflon could protect mechanical parts from wear and tear, and boost energy efficiency by reducing friction." |
7 |
![]() What’s almost as hard as diamond, slicker than Teflon and “green” enough to reduce the United States’ industrial energy consumption by trillions of BTUs a year? The answer is BAM!! |
8 |
![]() BAM is thought to reduce machine friction and wear and, thus, make machinery operate more smoothly and energy efficiently. |
9 |
![]() Research on BAM properties and potential uses is ongoing and several applications have been proposed for the material. For example, pistons, seals, and blades on pumps could be coated with BAM or BAM + TiB2 to reduce friction between parts and to increase wear resistance. The reduction in friction would reduce energy use. BAM could also be coated onto cutting tools. The reduced friction would lessen the force necessary to cut an object, extend tool life, and possibly permit increased cutting speeds. Coatings only 2-3 micrometres thick have been found to improve efficiency and reduce wear in cutting tools. |
10 |
![]() If a tool cuts with reduced friction, less applied force is needed, which directly translates to a reduction in the energy required for the machining operation. |
11 |
![]() The hardness of AlMgB14 samples increases with TiB2 additions. The abrasive wear rate for AlMgB14 + TiB2 samples is less than that of other hard materials. The wear rate of current generation BAM materials is negligible and significantly less than other ultra-hard materials such as Tungsten Carbide – Cobalt composites (WC/Co), cubic Boron Nitride (cBN), and polycrystalline diamond (pcd). |
12 |
![]() Successful development of these new wear-resistant composites is expected to result in U.S. energy savings of 31 trillion BTU/year by 2030. |
13 |
![]() Author: Richard Bodkin Project specifically concerned with the processing, densification and mechanical properties of hot-pressed AlMgB14, a hard ceramic material. |
14 |
![]() Thesis paper written by Iowa State University Masters Student analyzing Thin Film Applications. Available on OSTI.gov |