Will the Titan alloy independently developed by Xiaomi also be requisitioned by the state?

Understanding Xiaomi’s “Titanium Alloy”: A Perspective on Material Innovation

The study of aluminum alloys has spanned over a century, with the casting of aluminum alloys being a thoroughly matured field. Xiaomi’s so-called “Titanium Alloy” is essentially the national standard ZL106 cast aluminum alloy with a slight modification in its composition. This involves primarily reducing the copper content, slightly decreasing the strength while enhancing corrosion resistance. ZL106 is typically used in high-strength aluminum parts such as engine cylinder heads and pistons. The adjustment in this alloy’s composition is not a significant technological advancement, but rather an outcome of Xiaomi’s acquisition of a company.

Xiaomi is adept at renaming and repurposing these developments to market to the public, which is rather unimpressive.

Furthermore, current patents no longer directly correlate with the level of technological innovation but are more a matter of market or legal maneuvering. The so-called “Titanium Alloy” isn’t particularly challenging or innovative from a technical standpoint. Any metallurgical engineer would understand that while silicon enhances the castability of aluminum alloys, it reduces toughness; copper increases the strength of aluminum alloys but decreases corrosion resistance. Aviation-grade hard aluminum profiles might even be clad with pure aluminum to enhance corrosion resistance. Manganese and titanium can refine the grains and improve toughness. These principles and the capabilities and limitations of various alloys have been thoroughly researched and understood. Standard alloy compositions for various applications have already been established. For instance, Tesla has long realized large integrated die-cast parts for automotive bodies. Do you think Tesla hasn’t adjusted the composition of die-cast aluminum alloys? Because such adjustments are normal in the production process and don’t warrant excessive hype or a name like “Titanium Alloy” for marketing purposes.

Xiaomi’s patent is called: Heat Treatment-Free Die-Cast Aluminum Alloy and its Preparation Method and Application

A search in the National Intellectual Property Administration’s patent database for “Heat Treatment-Free Die-Cast Aluminum Alloy” yields 10 records.

Of course, this is a name. If you search for “Die-Cast Aluminum Alloy” only, you will get more than 500 records.

Unless Xiaomi can prove that its patented alloy has disruptive performance and is highly irreplaceable, it is unlikely to be requisitioned by the state.

I’m familiar with this, it’s professional. One Titan Steel Ingot = 3 Titan God Iron Ingots + Eternal Flame + Eternal Earth + Eternal Shadow.

This can make a mechanical road tyrant, and this car is always the most handsome wherever it goes.

Oh, wait, you’re talking about Xiaomi alloy materials. I think it should be the same principle, good cars use good materials, it should be pretty awesome, can Titan not be awesome?

Wishing all Mi fans to use Xiaomi smartphones, drive Xiaomi cars, and lead a cost-effective life.

Pollen users use Huawei smartphones, drive HarmonyOS cars, and lead a leek life.

What’s the argument about?

Xiaomi’s So-Called Innovative Alloy

If it were to be requisitioned by the country, that would truly be an honor for Xiaomi.

Let me tell you a story first.

There was a chef who invented a sauce, which he described as a product of his painstaking efforts, somewhat similar to today’s Laoganma chili sauce. The ingredients included chili, soy sauce, sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, salt, monosodium glutamate, chicken essence, and more.

This sauce was indeed quite delicious, especially when used as a dip for meat. He even applied for a patent.

He thought his invention was great, like Yunnan Baiyao or Pianzaihuang, and expected it to be classified as a national secret.

However, industry insiders knew that this was just a sauce, much like the dipping sauce for hot pot. Different people added different ingredients in varying proportions, resulting in different flavors—some spicier, saltier, sweeter, fresher, or more fragrant.

So, as you might have guessed, it was just a sauce. It might have some commercial value, but it didn’t represent any substantial innovation, nor did it qualify for national cultural or technological protection.

Back to the topic.

Xiaomi’s so-called innovative alloy is essentially a slight adjustment of element ratios in cast aluminum alloys to achieve desired properties.

In the casting of aluminum alloys, different elements have a significant impact on the performance of aluminum alloys. Here are the effects of some of the main elements:

Silicon (Si): Silicon is one of the main alloying elements in aluminum alloys, with a typical content ranging from 6% to 13%. Silicon primarily serves the following purposes: improving the fluidity of aluminum alloys, enhancing the liquid flowability of aluminum alloys, facilitating the filling of molds, and improving the mold filling performance of castings; increasing the strength of castings, as silicon can form silicon solid solution in the aluminum matrix, increasing the alloy’s strength and hardness. Additionally, silicon can refine the grain structure of aluminum alloys, enhancing their overall performance; enhancing heat resistance, as silicon can stabilize the phase structure of aluminum alloys, improving their heat resistance. Under high-temperature conditions, silicon can prevent phase changes in aluminum alloys, maintaining their stable performance.

Copper (Cu): Copper is one of the commonly used elements in aluminum alloys, with a typical content ranging from 2% to 8%. Copper primarily serves the following purposes: increasing the strength and hardness of aluminum alloys, as copper can form a solid solution with aluminum, increasing the alloy’s strength and hardness; improving corrosion resistance, as copper can enhance the corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys, making them more corrosion-resistant in harsh environments; improving heat treatment performance, as copper can stabilize the phase structure of aluminum alloys, enhancing their heat treatment performance. Additionally, copper can refine the grain structure of aluminum alloys, improving their overall performance.

In addition, other elements such as magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), and boron (B) also affect the performance of cast aluminum alloys. For example, magnesium significantly strengthens aluminum, with each 1% increase in magnesium resulting in an approximate 34MPa increase in tensile strength. Titanium is a commonly used additive element in aluminum alloys, added in the form of Al-Ti or Al-Ti-B intermediate alloys.

As someone who has studied the forming of metal materials, this is just one of the many material ratios out there, nothing too remarkable.

What Does the SurgingOS Whitepaper Look Like? Anywhere Else, It’s a Serious Quality Incident

That’s how it is, and this project can still win Xiaomi’s million-dollar award.

However, this material didn’t make the cut, and this Titan isn’t as highly regarded

So, it’s not as impressive as you might think.

PS

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s aluminum alloy research projects usually involve tens of millions, with dozens of academic, industry, and research units working together, spanning 5 to 10 years.

Considering Xiaomi’s research efficiency, it’s a rare find in the industrial landscape.

Inventing a “new material” is easy, but developing a recognized new alloy is difficult

How do you evaluate Xiaomi’s tech conference unveiling the “Xiaomi Titan Alloy,” the only domestic automaker with in-house developed alloy materials in production?

“In-house developed” doesn’t necessarily mean that the research is done by their own employees. We also consider the work results outsourced by Huawei as Huawei’s own. “In-house developed” should be understood as: self-investment in custom research and development, with sole ownership of intellectual property rights. Xiaomi’s announcement of this casting machine and aluminum alloy in this instance fits the above criteria and should be recognized as “in-house developed.”

Who doesn’t need a gimmick to make money?

Typically, PD charging is at 65W, and Huawei’s SuperCharge bumped it up to 66W. Xiaomi followed suit with a 67W fast charger. What significant difference can 1 watt make? We all know in our hearts.

Long Live Li Jie

Is it possible that the collaborating partner is a national key laboratory, which is already a national team [doge]

The person who asked this question,

How much advertising fees has Xiaomi received?

Can’t Xiaomi use the advertising fees to invest in real research and development? It’s just a company that shells its products.

Yet another company that you can’t even imagine.

Xiaomi’s automotive venture will likely fizzle out within 5 years. It’s destined to fail.

I’ve seen those who have been secretly investigated by the industry, But I’ve never seen anyone willingly expose themselves and ask for fame, If they are truly that strong, can they stay?

Obviously, you know nothing about alloys, and you know nothing about patents.

When it comes to naming, I’m good at it too. I bought a piece of iron and named it Xuantian Zhenbi, a programmable memory metal. You can use code to control its metal liquefaction and shape it into whatever you want, then solidify it into Zhenbi armor to protect the vehicle body. Pretty impressive, right? I came up with it myself. Actually, it’s just applying a film to the car.

In recent automotive expos, there have been introductions of some new adjectives, such as submarine-grade 2000MPa hot-formed steel, aerospace-grade thermal insulation aerogels, and nanoscale ceramic insulation layers. These are all mature materials.

To brag, it has to be on the internet.

The research community is still too conservative.

Xiaomi can be considered more of a supply chain integrator. When have they ever invented groundbreaking products like Apple? Please don’t overhype.

Mature supply chains, spend some money to customize something, slap on a label, and it’s considered “self-developed.” When did it become a trend to heavily emphasize “self-development” for everything you do? Since each one is so capable, it’s hard to stay low-key even when trying to make a breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion. When creating products, it’s essential to be grounded, deliver quality products to undergo market testing, and improve reliability and usability in various complex practical scenarios. Instead of getting self-indulgent in the PowerPoint stage. Nowadays, people are generally well-educated, and at the very least, they can grasp the industry situation by browsing on their smartphones. Please, all the businesses out there, respect the intelligence and perspectives of potential customers when promoting your products.

Breakthrough in Martensitic Steel Achieved by North University of Science and Technology’s Lv Zhaoping Team

In 2017, the Lv Zhaoping team at North University of Science and Technology achieved a high-strength martensitic steel with a strength of 2GPa. Unlike Xiaomi’s industrial-style mixing, their research utilized element ratios to induce the formation of an ordered nano-coherent phase during the aging process of martensitic steel. The mismatch with the matrix did not exceed 0.04%, and the average size of these phases was 3 nanometers.

This achievement, with extremely low mismatch and significant interphase boundary energy, resulted in high strength. It was recognized as one of the top 10 scientific discoveries in China in 2017. This demonstrates that Xiaomi’s simplistic mixing ratios are not worthy of national attention. In the industrial sector, this innovation is remarkable, while the research community focuses on trial and error unless you employ materials genomics, machine learning, and neural networks for material screening.

The materials research field has developed numerous materials with superior performance, but the industrial sector primarily values cost-effectiveness. Collaboration between the research and industrial sectors is challenging, with researchers feeling their funding is misused, and industries perceiving researchers as merely providing raw materials without innovative insights.

Da Chun, you are different from others, don’t focus your thoughts on studying.

Xiaomi: An Exemplar for Us, an Exemplar in the Marketing World

Xiaomi has not yet released its 2023 annual report, but in 2022, it achieved a revenue of 280 billion RMB with an R&D investment of 16.2 billion RMB.

In contrast, Huawei recorded a revenue of 642.3 billion RMB in 2022, with an R&D investment of 161.5 billion RMB.

Let’s not discuss any boasting claims about being “far ahead.” Without sufficient resources, you can’t achieve much. When you consider Huawei’s scale, its R&D expenses are only a quarter of theirs.

Without financial investment, it’s impossible to research anything.

If you want to talk about researching titanium-tantalum alloys, I’ll be honest with you – Titanium alloy, that’s a different story, it’s just like making a loud noise by farting.

Xiaomi labels everything, and everything can be Xiaomi.