A more flexible future with NiTi alloys
A more flexible future with NiTi alloys
Nickel-titanium alloys (NiTi alloys) and their impressive properties, such as shape memory alloy effect (SMA) and superelasticity (SE), offer almost limitless possibilities for innovation. Why is it that technological progress in SME has been relatively slow in our society since the discovery of the first commercializable alloys in the 1960s? There are many reasons for this. When you ask around in the industry, you repeatedly encounter reservations about the use of SME. Here are a few examples.
1) Know-how
The material's many technical applications present engineers with new challenges. Although forming temperature, forming path and force, and elasticity can be adjusted with precision, these factors must also be controlled during production and application.
2) Costs
While the materials used are significantly cheaper than precious metals or rare earths, they are usually more expensive than structural alloys made of aluminum and steel.
3) Experience
Inadequate quality can lead to poor material behavior and premature failure. Achieving quality standards that allow for applications such as medical stents, which must withstand millions of deformation cycles with the highest reliability, took a long time. Unfortunately, some potential SCM users are hesitant because they remember early studies, have experience with low-quality imports, or are simply not familiar with the material.
4) Quantity
There are too few suppliers on the market, which is why B2C companies are reluctant to become dependent on them.
5) Sales markets
Large metalworking industries are holding back because the market has not yet reached a scale at which they could sell tons of the material daily.
Good news for smart materials
This sounds like a lot of problems. While none of them seem unsolvable, the industrial landscape needs to change. Large metal companies acting alone lack the flexibility and speed necessary to overcome existing challenges. At the same time, success stories are needed to demonstrate the potential market size of these applications. Long-established companies are reluctant to take this risk.
The good news is that there is movement in the industrial landscape. New startups are entering the market and filling innovative niches where modern processes allow for entirely new applications. These companies are driving innovation by designing and using optimized alloys outside of standard processes and materials. Consequently, they will play an essential role in the future of the automotive industry, aerospace, medical technology, civil engineering, the energy sector, robotics, and other areas.
Image credit: BioActiveMetals S.r.l.
Image credit: BioActiveMetals S.r.l.
Image credit: BioActiveMetals S.r.l.
Advances in melting and processing now enable the production of NiTi alloys with a purity that meets medical standards and can withstand millions of deformations without fatigue. At the same time, the high purity of the material opens up possibilities in miniaturization that were previously unattainable due to fatigue behavior. Smaller components are required for minimally invasive therapies, sensor and actuator technology, and offer new opportunities through faster, more energy-efficient deformation. A narrow NiTi spring can perform the work of a motor in a space-efficient, quiet, energy-efficient, and powerful manner.
The true strength of shape memory alloys lies in their design diversity and adaptability. Through alloying and microstructure engineering, transformation temperatures and mechanical properties can be adapted to a wide range of application requirements. The free-form capabilities of additive manufacturing can open new application fields for the material. For example, it can be used for patient-specific implants or components for heat pumps based on the elastocaloric effect, which will contribute to the green energy transition in the future.
It is important for further industrial success that the industry discovers these new approaches and solutions for itself. This requires not only the help of materials research, but also more flexible companies that are bold enough to design NiTi products and prove their commercial viability and sustainability. Sustainability also means addressing the ecological footprint of the technology and finding solutions with less complex recycling processes for the product life cycle.
Jannis Nicolas Lemke
- Co-Founder BioActiveMetals
Alberto Coda
- Co-Founder BioActiveMetals
BioActiveMetals S.r.l. was founded near Milan in early 2024 with the aim of driving forward the establishment of functional materials such as shape memory alloys. Although it is a young start-up, it can draw on over twenty years of experience in material production, processing, and application—from melting to the finished product, so to speak. Mastering the production of NiTi in a wide variety of configurations, whether powder for 3D printing, wire, springs, sheet metal, tubes, thin film, or more complex components, is part of its core competence. At the same time, BioActiveMetals S.r.l. is working on future technologies such as high-temperature (HT) shape memory solutions, which are both powerful and commercially viable because, unlike conventional NiTi, they can be used for actuators in environments above 100°C.
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