Braeön: strong as steel, as flexible as rope, and as malleable as putty - MaterialDistrict (2023)

Braeön (pronounced like ‘brawn’) is, according to its creators, the world’s strongest and most adaptable material. The adventure-proof tape is as strong as steel, as flexible as rope, and as malleable as putty. While the tape itself is as thin as paper, a single layer can hold over 2,000 pounds (907.2 kilograms) of tensile force.

The material is a composite material, made from an ultra-high strength thermoplastic fibre with a low temperature activated thermoplastic polymermatrix. As a fully wetted (complete bonding between the fibre and the matrix material) composite material, the final product is able to take advantage of the characteristics of each of the individual components: the strength of the fibre and the low temperature formability of the matrix polymer.

When heated to a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), the material can be moulded into any shape. The plastic tape’s molecules decouple when heated, rendering itsoft and flexible. Once it cools down, it holds its shape. It can also be reused, when it is heated again to the right temperature. Heating can by any means, like warm water, a blow dryer, an oven, etc., but at a temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121.1 degrees Celsius) or exposed to an open flame for too long, Braeön can become flammable.

If layers are added, the material becomes even stronger. You can use it for repairing a broken chain link, to create a harness, or to tow objects. Its flexibility allows Braeön to adapt to any necessary shape, and its malleable characteristics enable Braeön to create custom grips, handles, and rivets.

While the material is incredibly strong, it is also very light. 100 feet (30.5 meters) weighs less than 1 pound (0.5 kilograms).

Currently, the material only comes in white, though on the Kickstarter page (which ended several days ago with almost5 times their original goal), it says that they plan on making more colors available in the future. In the meantime, you can paint Braeön in the colour that fits your need.

Photos via Designboom

FAQs

What is the strongest most flexible material? ›

Graphene is flexible, elastic and stronger than anything we have seen before. This combination of strength and light weight will allow the Army to carry equipment weighing less than it does now and with the same protection.

What is the strongest and most malleable material? ›

More often than not, we test it as hardness. Gold and silver are the most malleable and ductile metals.

What metal is strong but malleable? ›

Titanium. Another strong natural metal, titanium is a low-density mineral that is quite malleable and easy to work with at a high melting point. Because it has such a low density, it is much lighter than steel while having a similar strength.

What material is flexible but strong? ›

It's “graphene.” Graphene is the strongest, thinnest material known to exist. A form of carbon, it can conduct electricity and heat better than anything else. And get ready for this: It is not only the hardest material in the world, but also one of the most pliable.

What is Braeön made of? ›

the paper-thin ribbon—made of a super high-strength synthetic fiber together with a thermoplastic—molecularly fuses to itself in a matter of seconds when heated, allowing it to be moulded and remoulded into any shape.

What is flexible steel called? ›

Braeön: strong as steel, as flexible as rope, and as malleable as putty - MaterialDistrict.

What type of steel is malleable? ›

Wrought Iron and Steel are extremely malleable and allow great flexibility with acquiring different shapes as per the variety of applications. Iron in its original form or its alloy as Steel is deformed with the applied pressure to acquire and fit their usage.

Can malleable break easily? ›

The most important component of malleability is that the material will not break or crack. It's easy to change the form of something by breaking it, but truly malleable objects will not break (i.e. the atoms will not permanently separate from one another).

What are the 2 most malleable metals? ›

Silver ( Ag ) and Gold ( Au ) are said to be the most malleable metals.

What material is highly malleable? ›

A few examples of the most malleable metals are silver, aluminium, tin, platinum, zinc, iron, lead, copper, nickel and gold. Among these, gold is said to be more malleable.

Is there a bendable metal? ›

Some metals are soft and easily bent, such as aluminum (Al). A metal that is easily bent is called malleable. Weight: Many common metals such as iron, copper, and zinc are very heavy (dense), although the smaller metals such as aluminum and lithium are fairly light.

What metal bends without breaking? ›

Bendability, which indicates how easily you can bend a material without breaking it, is commonly associated with aluminum. Purer aluminum alloys, such as those used for household aluminum foil, are highly flexible and exhibit excellent bendability.

What is hard but flexible? ›

Cartilage is a firm, hard tissue, which is softer and more flexible than bone.

What material is easily bendable? ›

Rubber - rubber's an extremely elastic material, making it a very flexible and highly adaptable resource that's used in a lot of different ways. Metal - while most metals aren't very elastic, they can be very plastic under the right circumstances, such as when hammered very thin.

Is there flexible steel? ›

Although steel is flexible, the different types of steel are designed to meet a variety of needs. The flexibility of steel makes it possible for the metal to be used in numerous areas. However, it has been established that all steel is equally flexible.

Is Braeon a metal? ›

The makers of Braeön (pronounced “brawn”) say it's plastic composite material is a lighter, more versatile alternative to rope of metal while exhibiting the most beneficial features of both. Boasting a tensile strength of over 900kg, a 100ft length of the composite ribbon weighs less than 0.5kg.

What are the properties of Braeön? ›

Braeön is strong like steel, flexible like rope, and adaptable like putty. Virtually any heat source can be used to heat Braeön to the necessary 140°F to bend and mold the plastic into desired shape. Warm water a typical blow dryer, oven, heat gun or other tools you might have.

How much does Braeön cost? ›

Kickstarter rates include $20 for a 20-foot roll, $100 for a 152-foot roll, and $340 for 20 x 20-foot rolls.

What is the name for flexible materials? ›

Elastomeric Materials

An elastomeric material is any material exhibiting elastic or rubber-like properties. Generally speaking, elastomeric materials are measured in material type, compound, and durometer (the material's hardness).

What is the most bendable steel? ›

Carbon steel is the most commonly-bent material, due to its widespread use and complete flexibility as a strong, reliable component for construction and OEM purposes.

What type of material is flexible? ›

Rubber - rubber's an extremely elastic material, making it a very flexible and highly adaptable resource that's used in a lot of different ways. Metal - while most metals aren't very elastic, they can be very plastic under the right circumstances, such as when hammered very thin.

Is steel ductile or malleable? ›

In other words, a material's ability to undergo significant plastic deformation under tensile stress before rapture is called the ductile properties of the material. The ductile materials are nickel, copper, steel etc.

Which metal is highly malleable and ductile? ›

So, gold and silver are the highly malleable and ductile materials.

Which metal is malleable and ductile? ›

The metals lead and tin are both malleable and ductile ,biit their ' malleability, or spreading-out property, is much greater than !

What makes steel more malleable? ›

Work hardened metals can be made more malleable and ductile again by a process called annealing. The work hardened metal is heated to a temperature which is about half its melting point. The grains within the structure re-crystallise into many fine grains.

Which material has maximum ductility? ›

The most ductile metal is platinum and the most malleable metal is gold.

Which metal is malleable but not ductile? ›

Some metals can be malleable but not ductile and vice versa. For example; gold is both ductile and malleable, but lead is only malleable.

Which is more malleable iron or steel? ›

Wrought iron is more malleable and ductile than steel.

What is meant by malleable metal? ›

The ability of a substance, usually metal, to be deformed or moulded into a different shape is referred to as malleability. For chemists, metal malleability provides an important means of describing the specific properties of a metal and relating them to the arrangement of the atoms within the metal.

What are ductility metals examples? ›

Copper, aluminum, and steel are examples of ductile metals. The opposite of ductility is brittleness, where a material breaks when tensile stress is applied to lengthen it. Examples of brittle materials include cast iron, concrete, and some glass products.

What are 5 examples of malleability materials? ›

Malleability is a material's ability to form thin sheets under pressure by hammering or rolling. Examples of malleable metals are gold, iron, aluminium, copper, silver and lead.

Which has the highest malleability and ductility? ›

The most malleable and ductile of all metals is gold.

What are 10 examples of malleable materials? ›

Gold, silver, iron, aluminum, copper, tin, indium, lead, electrum, steel, sodium, calcium, and lithium are a few examples of malleable metals. These metals can be used to make malleable materials like gold leaf, lithium foil, and indium shot.

What is strong as steel but cheaper? ›

Aluminium. Aluminium has long been used as an alternative to stainless steel: It is cheaper than steel to cast and fabricate, and the cheapest of the metals we're looking at pound for pound. Its passive oxide layer gives it high corrosion resistance, which can be further improved through anodising or PEO.

What is the lightest metal but strongest? ›

Magnesium Alloys. We left this particularly strong metal alloy for last. And for good reason, scientists are still experimenting with various magnesium alloys to create new alloys. This has already been termed the strongest and lightest metal there is.

What is a lightweight metal but strong? ›

Aluminum and aluminum alloys are lightweight, non-ferrous metals with good corrosion resistance, ductility, and strength.

What metal is impossible to break? ›

1. Osmium. Osmium metals are well known for their bluish-white and extremely tough exteriors. Their melting point can be as high as 3030 degrees celsius, making them the toughest to break.

What metal can't bend? ›

Some metals, like tungsten and titanium, are very hard and have poor malleability, making them unsuitable for bending in most cases.

How thick of metal can a break Bend? ›

Some metals or alloys bend easier than others, but as a general guideline, ¼' is the limit. Tonnage is a factor as well on the bending thickness.

What is the most flexible thing on earth? ›

Octopuses have the most flexible appendages known in nature, according to a new study in Scientific Reports. In addition to being soft and strong, each of the animal's eight arms can bend, twist, elongate and shorten in many combinations to produce diverse movements.

What is something soft but strong? ›

Rubber in a tyre, for example, is rather strong but still relatively soft, and adapts to the minor surface structure of a road (which has a harder surface, relative to the rubber). This is because the molecules in rubber are long strings that are linked together.

What is extremely flexible? ›

Turns out, there's a clinical definition for being too flexible — generalised joint hypermobility (GJH). So much clearer, right? Hypermobility is both a genetic and acquired condition that affects the body's connective tissue, making it much more elastic than it should be.

What is the most flexible solid? ›

The wonder-material graphene has gained yet another superlative: exceptional flexibility at temperatures at which everything else is frozen solid.

What is the toughest material on earth? ›

Diamond is the hardest known material to date, with a Vickers hardness in the range of 70–150 GPa. Diamond demonstrates both high thermal conductivity and electrically insulating properties, and much attention has been put into finding practical applications of this material.

Is there soft steel? ›

Soft steel — our standard carbon steel

Our standard carbon steel, which contains about 0.8% carbon, is what we call soft steel in this blog post because it contains a lower proportion of carbon content than our harder UHC steel (Ultra High Carbon).

Is steel more flexible than titanium? ›

Titanium is half as dense as steel and is therefore known as a “light metal”. It is also more elastic or flexible and easier to bend. But because of this, titanium is difficult to machine as it gums up mills and drills.

Is there a stretchy metal? ›

He's a materials scientist at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Soft metals such as gold, silver and platinum are called ductile. That means they can stretch a long way — from a fat chunk into a long, thin wire — before breaking.

What is the most toughest material in Earth? ›

Diamond is the hardest known material to date, with a Vickers hardness in the range of 70–150 GPa. Diamond demonstrates both high thermal conductivity and electrically insulating properties, and much attention has been put into finding practical applications of this material.

What material can bend without breaking? ›

Rubber - rubber's an extremely elastic material, making it a very flexible and highly adaptable resource that's used in a lot of different ways. Metal - while most metals aren't very elastic, they can be very plastic under the right circumstances, such as when hammered very thin.

What are 5 examples of hard materials? ›

Some examples of hard materials are diamond, boron carbide, quartz, tempered steel, ice, granite, concrete.

What is the softest thing to touch? ›

According to the Mohs scale, talc, also known as soapstone, is the softest mineral; it is composed of a stack of weakly connected sheets that tend to slip apart under pressure.

What are 5 examples of soft materials? ›

Rubber band, leaf, eraser, cooked rice, and fresh chapati are identified as soft materials. Was this answer helpful?

What material is stronger than steel? ›

As mentioned above, tungsten is the strongest of any natural metal (142,000 psi). But in terms of impact strength, tungsten is weak — it's a brittle metal known to shatter on impact. On the other hand, Titanium has a tensile strength of 63,000 psi.

Is anything stronger than steel? ›

Tungsten, which is Swedish for "heavy stone," is the strongest metal in the world. It was identified as a new element in 1781.

What material is harder than steel? ›

Titanium (716 to 2770 MPa)

Even in its pure form, titanium is harder than many steel forms. As a refractory metal, it is highly resistant to heat and abrasion, which is why titanium and its alloys are popular. It can be alloyed with iron and carbon, for example.

Is there anything harder than diamond? ›

It is well-known since the late 20th-century that there's a form of carbon that's even harder than diamonds: carbon nanotubes. By binding carbon together into a hexagonal shape, it can hold a rigid cylindrical-shaped structure more stably than any other structure known to humankind.

What material is indestructible? ›

Ask most people what the hardest material on Earth is and they will probably answer "diamond". Its name comes from the Greek word ἀδάμας (adámas) meaning "unbreakable" or "invincible" and is from where we get the word "adamant".

What metal is stronger than diamond? ›

Scientists have found a mineral stronger than diamond Scientists have found a mineral stronger than diamond. They say lonsdaleite could be used to fortify industrial tools like drill bits and saw blades - AND teach us about the evolution of earth.

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