Selective crystallization of bulk amorphous alloy

• US 9,963,769 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2012
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Prest, Christopher D., Scott, Matthew S., Zadesky, Stephen P., Stratton, Dermot J., Poole, Joseph C.
• Primary Examiner(s): WYSZOMIERSKI, GEORGE P
• Application Number:
  US13/541,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20140007989A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,133 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 1/00 Making non-ferrous alloys by electrothermic methods C22B4/00; by electrolysis C25C1/24, C25C3/36
• CPC Class Codes: C22F 1/00 Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working apparatus for mechanical working of metal B21, B23, B24

Abstract

Provided in one embodiment is a method of selective microstructural transformation, comprising: providing a part comprising a bulk amorphous alloy; heating selectively a portion of the part to a first temperature such that at least some of the portion is transformed into a crystalline phase; and processing the transformed portion.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

crystallizing a portion of a bulk amorphous alloy part, the portion being less than the entire part; and

removing substantially all of the crystallized portion by machining a local portion of the part, the local portion including less than an entire surface of the part, thereby forming an at least partially amorphous part.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the bulk amorphous alloy comprises at least one of Sc, Y, La, Ac, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Tc, Re, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Cd, and Hg.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation of crystallizing the portion of the part comprises heating the portion of the part using laser heating, plasma heating, infrared heating, conductive contact heating, frictional heating, direct electrical resistive heating in the part, or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the operation of heating the portion of the part comprises heating the portion of the part to a temperature at or above a crystallization temperature of the bulk amorphous alloy.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising cooling the heated portion.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the crystallized portion is on a surface of the part.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the crystallized portion has at least one material property different from an amorphous portion of the part.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein machining the local portion of the part comprises forming a cavity in the surface of the part.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein machining the local portion of the part further comprises forming threads in the cavity.

10. A method, comprising:

heating a portion of a part comprising a bulk amorphous alloy to a first temperature to form a transformed portion of the part comprising a crystalline phase, wherein the transformed portion is adjacent a non-transformed portion of the part and has a lower mechanical strength than the non-transformed portion; and

removing substantially all of the transformed portion using a mechanical removal operation to form a cavity in a surface of the part.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the lower mechanical strength comprises lower yield strength, lower hardness, lower fatigue life, lower fatigue fracture resistance, lower elastic limit, or combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising repeating at least one of the heating operation and the removing operation on a different portion of the part.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein removing substantially all of the transformed portion comprises forming threads in the transformed portion.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising finishing, painting, polishing, or combinations thereof the part after the removal operation.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the transformed portion has a surface morphology that is different from that of the non-transformed portion.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the part is a part of an electronic device.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the operation of removing substantially all of the transformed portion comprises punching a hole through the transformed portion.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein a threaded opening is machined in the transformed portion of the part during the mechanical removal operation.

19. A method, comprising:

crystallizing a portion of a bulk amorphous alloy part that is less than the entire part; and

forming a cavity in a surface of the part by machining away substantially all of the crystallized portion.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the bulk amorphous alloy is substantially free of Ni, Be, or both.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the part is a part of an electronic device.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein machining away substantially all of the crystallized portion comprises grinding the crystallized portion.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the operation of forming the cavity comprises forming a cavity with an undercut.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the cavity extends through less than a complete thickness of the part.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the portion of the bulk amorphous alloy part comprises substantially an entire surface region of the part.