Home » News » Hengpu Studies Nature: The "Code" of Pangolin Scales, How the "Natural Armor" Transforms into Industrial Tools

Hengpu Studies Nature: The "Code" of Pangolin Scales, How the "Natural Armor" Transforms into Industrial Tools

Views: 0     Author: Site Editor     Publish Time: 2025-07-15      Origin: Site

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It is an ancient species that has survived on Earth for at least 50 million years, mentioned in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" as an ancient auspicious beast, and also a good character in "Huluwa," who helps the grandfather escape from the tunnel. It is the pangolin.


As the only mammal on Earth with scales, the pangolin has almost no natural enemies in the wild. Its tough scales effectively resist attacks from predators, and even large carnivores like leopards, wolves, and lions often struggle to break through them. But few people know that the main component of pangolin scales is β-keratin, which is essentially the same as ordinary keratin found in our hair and nails. So, why do these seemingly ordinary keratin scales become a survival tool for the pangolin? Can the "genetic code" of evolution in nature bring new breakthroughs to industrial wear resistance?


Nature’s Inspiration: The "Anti-Wear Philosophy" of Pangolin Scales

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(Presently, there are eight species of pangolins in the world)

Pangolins belong to the anteater family, also known as "Lii." They are particularly skilled in "mountain-digging," with a digging speed of 2-3 meters per hour. Their bodies are covered with over 600 tile-like keratin scales, which is how they got their name, "pangolin."


Pangolins have a very unique appearance. Their bodies are round and large, with short, thick limbs, a flat and thick tail, and a pointed, thin head. The smallest species is the long-tailed pangolin, which is about 30 cm in length, while the largest is the giant pangolin, which can grow up to 1.8 meters long.

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Despite its armored appearance, the pangolin is a true "peace lover." If a tiger or wolf approaches, the pangolin will retreat, and only when escape is impossible will it adopt its specific "three-defense move": burying its head, curling its front feet, drawing in its hind feet, and curling its tail, transforming into a ball. When fully curled, its scales lock together tightly, forming a solid spherical barrier. This defense mechanism makes the pangolin highly secure against predators, even capable of withstanding the 400 kg bite force of a lion without breaking.

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The reason why the pangolin can move freely through hard soil lies in the "dynamic force dissipation" of its scales. The surface of the scales exhibits a geometric mesh structure with vertical ridges and horizontal grooves. The vertical ridges act like evenly distributed channels, guiding rock debris to slide along the ridge during the digging process, significantly reducing tangential resistance and wear. Meanwhile, the horizontal structure’s grooves buffer non-primary directional wear, maintaining the stability of the digging function. Inside the scales, an organic fiber network and disordered fibers interweave, giving the scales excellent elasticity and toughness. This allows the pangolin to quickly absorb and dissipate external shocks, protecting its internal organs like an efficient shock absorber.


When we are perplexed by material wear issues, nature has already written the answer with pangolin scales: the secret to anti-wear is to let the wear "slide away" rather than "resist" it.


Saying Goodbye to Uneven Wear: Solving the "Short and Long Legs" Problem of Cutter Teeth

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Imagine wearing sneakers where the outer sole has worn down to paper-thin, while the inner side is almost brand new — walking with an "uneven gait" problem. In the industrial field, this issue is what engineers dread: the "uneven wear" problem.


As one of the key components in mining machinery, cutter teeth are like "teeth" that come into direct contact with ore and rock layers. Traditional cutter teeth often suffer from "unilateral wear" due to uneven rock hardness, installation angle errors, and other factors: one side of the blade becomes pitted and almost worn out, while the other side remains in perfect condition, "slacking off."


What's worse, this imbalance can lead to a domino effect: vibration increases due to the wear on one side, and cutter teeth that were supposed to last for three months may need replacement in just half a month. This not only doubles the cost of consumables, but also causes mechanical failures, downtime for repairs, and the costs of replacing damaged components, all of which form a snowball effect that continuously compresses the profitability of mining operations.


Among the many causes of uneven wear, the structural defects of traditional cutter teeth cannot be ignored. Cutter teeth that can adapt to self-rotation act like Tai Chi masters, dispersing impact forces across the entire body, ensuring even wear. However, when the cutter teeth are fixed at a specific angle or blocked by mud and debris, they become like boxers with their hands and feet tied, forced to take hits on just one side.


Thus, the "dynamic force dissipation" wisdom of the pangolin scales opened up new ideas for Hengpu Laser. Since traditional cutter teeth experience uneven wear due to unidirectional force at fixed angles, can we use biomimetic structures to give the cutter teeth the ability to adjust and rotate adaptively?

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Through laser 3D printing, Hengpu Laser’s research and development team mimicked the structural characteristics of pangolin scales and re-planned the path, designing a biomimetic solution for the cutter teeth—from surface patterns to material composition.


The wear-resistant layer of the cutter teeth surface uses three-dimensional biomimetic technology to create longitudinal ridges and horizontal grooves similar to those on pangolin scales. When the cutter teeth drill into rock layers, the friction force generated by the ridges along the surface direction decomposes the tangential force, causing the cutter teeth to rotate slightly. The impact force, which was previously concentrated on one side of the blade, is now evenly distributed along the ridge path due to the slight rotation of the cutter teeth. This not only reduces the friction coefficient on the cutter teeth but also completely solves the problem of "unilateral wear."


In terms of materials, Hengpu cutter teeth are based on high-performance coarse-grain tungsten carbide alloy heads and use laser-implanted ceramic particle technology to create a functional composite material that integrates structural and functional properties. This solves the technical challenges of macro-level ceramic-metal fusion and micro-level bonding, overcoming the problem of ceramic cracking in high ceramic volume fractions, and replicating the wear resistance logic of the scales' balance between rigidity and flexibility.


Moreover, Hengpu cutter teeth are made from military-grade high-purity base materials, with additional "tempering" heat treatment processes, providing excellent comprehensive performance with high hardness and toughness, making them highly wear-resistant and durable.

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After several rounds of precise simulations and repeated optimizations of working conditions, Hengpu cutter teeth with biomimetic pangolin scale structures were put into practice. The once problematic ores and hard rocks that caused cutter teeth to wear unevenly now form stable excavation tracks with the wisdom of the biomimetic structure, and the tangible wear resistance performance has earned the trust and praise of many customers.


When biomimetics and laser printing meet at the tip of a cutter, the passive struggle against uneven wear is transforming into an actively controlled mechanical art. With every technical breakthrough, Hengpu cutter teeth become more adept in the competition with rock layers. Looking forward, Hengpu Laser will continue to explore innovative boundaries, making the "even wear" craftsmanship a powerful engine driving efficient industry development, helping China’s wear-resistant technology shine on the global stage.

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