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6 MARKET SPOTLIGHT
A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6
FEEDBACK
METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES MARKET HOLDS PROMISE
According to a new report from
BCC Research, Wellesley, Mass., inter-
est in metal matrix composites (MMCs)
remains high due to properties such
as greater stiffness, better wear resis-
tance, lower density, and other bene-
fits compared to standard materials.
Despite these advantages, however,
the market remains modest compared
with its potential, according to ana-
lysts. MMCs combine high strength
and stiffness, low weight, corrosion
resistance, and in some cases special
electrical properties. This combination
makes them very attractive for aircraft
and aerospace structural parts among
other applications. The most common
MMCs are aluminum, magnesium, and
copper/titanium alloys as a matrix,
with aluminum oxide and silicon car-
bide as reinforcements.
The global MMC market is fore-
cast to reach $431.1 million by 2020,
up from $326.9 million in 2015, reflect-
ing a five-year compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7%. The larg-
est application market, ground trans-
portation, should reach $203.2 million
by 2020 from $156.9 million in 2015,
SERIOUSLY SCARY
Thank you for your astute insight on
artificial intelligence (AI), “Serious Matters,”
October issue. Back in the 1960s, the movie
“2001: A Space Odyssey” profoundly affected
my thinking on computers. An astronaut at
the end of an interstellar voyage finds himself
the lone survivor on board his spacecraft.
Other astronauts are found dead in their
cryogenic beds. Dave, the live astronaut,
discovers that the computer, HAL 9000, has
taken over the ship. Soon he is in back of the
computer’s power supplies disabling it. As he
begins shutting it down, the computer speaks
to him. “Dave? ... I wouldn’t do that if I were
you Dave.” This is the signature line of the
movie. I sure hope a takeover by AI wouldn’t
get that close before we recognized what
could be done about it.
Dana Wilson
SERIOUSLY SKEPTICAL
I’ma serious skeptic about AI. This might
be something to be used in smartphones and
computers, but can you imagine amachine
being able to decide what makes for a good
technical publication like AM&P?Amachine
that can decide what a guy likeme wants to
see? NOT. I think your job is more than safe.
In other news, have you been following
the driverless car thing? One of the ladies in
our group has placed an order for one of the
TBD Tesla cars that will have that technology.
She loves the idea. Granted, there are some
bad drivers out there, but I don’t see this as
an improvement. And I definitely put it in the
“what could possibly go wrong” category.
Two words that should strike fear into the
hearts of even themost enthusiastic propo-
nents of driverless cars? Software updates.
T.R.
We welcome all comments
and suggestions. Send letters to
.
at a CAGR of 5.3%. The space research
and defense systems market should
reach $52.5 million by 2020 from
$37.6 million in 2015, at a five-year
CAGR of 6.9%. The space and defense
systems, nuclear energy, and aircraft
industry MMC markets should experi-
ence the strongest growth. Geograph-
ically, the most rapid consumption
will occur in China and other East
Asian nations as a sizeable share of
many key end-use market industries
migrate to China and elsewhere.
Reducing the cost of manufac-
turing MMC components would aid
use in cost-sensitive industries such
as transportation. Both private sec-
tor and public initiatives seek to pro-
mote MMC use in non-transportation
and non-aerospace applications.
Some technological and economic
barriers have been overcome,
although not at the pace most indus-
try participants prefer. High produc-
tion costs, availability, informational,
and technical issues continue to bar
market expansion. For more informa-
tion on Metal Matrix Composites: The
Global Market, visit bccresearch.com.
Global MMCs Market by Industry, 2014-2020 ($ Millions)
Source: BCC Research