As a revolutionary new material, liquid metal has been widely used in many fields, such as consumer electronics, medical devices, automobiles, sporting goods, etc., and its market space is gradually opening up. At present, the fastest growing field of liquid metal sales comes from the hinge of folding screen mobile phone, and the outbreak of folding screen mobile phone market is also expected to open up huge growth space for liquid metal industry.
The flat, smooth and folding performance of zirconium-based liquid metal folding screen mobile phones has reached a higher level
It is reported that there are leading domestic mobile phone manufacturers who have used liquid metal structural parts for the hinges of several generations of folding screen mobile phones. The use of liquid metal materials makes the folding screen mobile phone produced by it not only smaller in bending radius, but also extremely thin and the screen is flatter. The company's folding screen mobile phone can achieve better flatness, which is closely related to the application of zirconium-based liquid metal hinge, because its new generation of water drop hinge assembles all MIM and high-strength steel structure parts on the amorphous (liquid metal) spindle, which requires very high strength, accuracy and wear resistance of the spindle, which makes the accuracy requirements of nearly 1 dimensions on a rotating shaft structural part reach the top level in the processing industry. It can be said that the zirconium-based liquid metal rotating shaft structure has made an indispensable contribution to the flat and smooth folding of the folding screen mobile phone.
public information shows that liquid metal material is a metal material with a unique amorphous molecular structure and a low melting point. Its strength is more than 1 times that of magnesium-aluminum alloy, more than 2 times that of stainless steel and titanium alloy, and its hardness is more than 1 times that of magnesium-aluminum alloy, more than 1.5 times that of stainless steel and titanium alloy, and it is also much better than other metals in magnetism, corrosion resistance and wear resistance. In addition, liquid metal has a great advantage that it has excellent formability after melting, which makes its casting process more similar to plastic rather than nonmetal, and can be made into various forms of precision products more conveniently.
when applied to the hinge of folding screen mobile phone, the zirconium-based liquid metal folding screen mobile phone hinge can meet the strength and accuracy requirements of hinge supporting folding screen mobile phone with a small thickness. At the same time, due to the excellent elastic deformation ability of liquid metal itself, the fatigue performance of the product is far better than other materials, which can greatly improve the fall resistance and wear resistance and bending life of folding screen mobile phone, and also make the folding screen mobile phone more advantageous in flatness and aesthetics.
Yian Technology is one of the largest manufacturers of liquid metal in the world.
The key components of folding screen mobile phone include flexible display screen, hinge, protective cover, touch conductive material, structural design, etc. Among them, flexible display screen and hinge are considered to be the two most critical technologies different from traditional mobile phones. The hinge of folding screen shaft is composed of multiple interlocking gears, which can provide accurate motion control and play a key role in seamless fitting of folding intelligent terminal. In terms of technology, the hinge of folding screen mobile phone is integrated by multiple parts, which requires more than ten kinds of metal parts and MIM, stamping, liquid metal and other processes. The process is extremely complicated and often needs the cooperation of multiple suppliers.
from the specific division of labor, the overall design of hinges is generally completed by the mobile phone manufacturer, and each structural part is developed and manufactured by different upstream suppliers according to the demand. For example, the liquid metal structural parts of successive generations of folding screen mobile phone hinges of Company H are developed and manufactured by A-share listed company Yi 'an Technology (3328.SZ), and MIM parts are supplied by Jingyan Technology and other companies (379.SZ).
it is worth mentioning that compared with other parts, the technological threshold of liquid metal is extremely high, and there are very few domestic large-scale production enterprises, only a few enterprises such as Yi 'an Technology and Changzhou Shijing. Yi 'an Technology is one of the leading companies in liquid metal industrialization in China and even in the world. As early as more than 1 years ago, the company began to focus on liquid metal research and development and industrialization, with independent intellectual property rights in liquid metal composition, molding technology and equipment, and the largest zirconium-based liquid metal production line in China. Its products have been widely used in automobiles, consumer electronics, watches, medical devices, sporting goods and other fields. In the field of folding screen mobile phone hinges, Yi 'an Technology is one of the few enterprises in the world that can develop and produce zirconium-based liquid metal folding screen hinges on a large scale, and has provided several generations of liquid metal hinges for H Company, the leading domestic folding screen mobile phone manufacturer. In addition to H Company, Yi 'an Technology is also cooperating with many mobile phone companies on hinges. According to the interoperability information, Yi 'an Technology has cooperated with five customers on liquid metal hinges, and some customers are developing products together.
The organization predicts that the folding screen mobile phone market will grow at a high speed
According to the research report of CITIC Securities, the global shipment of folding screen mobile phones will increase from 198, units in 218 to 2.8 million units in 22, and it is expected to reach 7.5 million units in 221 (+188% year-on-year). After that, with the maturity of technology and cost reduction, the global shipment of folding screen mobile phones is expected to exceed 6,5 units in 225.
in terms of brands, Samsung and Huawei, as the dominant players in the field of folding screens in the world at present, are still expected to perform strongly in the future. However, with the new brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO and Honor exerting their efforts in the field of folding screens, the market competition may be further intensified in the future, but the more intense competition will also accelerate the overall growth of the folding screen mobile phone market.
citic securities believes that although the industry is still facing difficulties in structural design, flexible modules, hinges and product ecology, the subsequent iterative upgrading will be accelerated, so it is optimistic about the overall industry growth space and related industry chain companies.
(This article is for reference only, and does not constitute a basis for buying and selling, and the risk of entering the market is at your own risk. )