CNC Machining Materials

Titanium CNC Machining

Titanium is a metal with excellent strength-to-weight proportion, low thermal development, and high corrosion resistance that is sterilizable and biocompatible.

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Titanium CNC Machining

Titanium (or Ti on the table of elements) is a lightweight metal with a wide variety of beneficial properties from rust resistance to strength retention at severe temperature levels, available both in pure and alloyed form. Pure titanium has some (less than 1%) iron and oxygen content. More advanced alloys significantly improve the overall strength of titanium.

Titanium is an advanced material with excellent corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and strength-to-weight characteristics, making it an ideal choice for many of the engineering challenges faced by the medical, energy, chemical processing, defense, and aerospace industries.

Titanium Subtypes

Ultimate tensile strength Yield strength Young’s modulus (modulus of elasticity) Elongation at break Hardness Corrosion resistance Magnetism Weldability Application
Titanium Grade 1 310 – 350 MPa 220 – 240 MPa 103 – 105 GPa 28 -32 % 120 HB Excellent Non-magnetic High Airframe components Cryogenic vessels Heat exchangers CPl equipment Condenser tubing Pickling baskets Learn More
Titanium Grade 2 420 – 470 MPa 330 – 360 MPa 105 – 110 GPa 23 – 25 % 80 – 82 HRB Excellent Non-magnetic High Aerospace Marine industry Medical industry Learn More
Titanium Grade 5 920 – 1000 MPa 830 – 880 MPa 113.8 GPa 9 – 11 % 334 HB Very Hight Non-magnetic Low Aerospace Learn More

Titanium CNC Machining Surface Finishes

Titanium CNC Machining Gallery

Cost-saving Design Tips

Titanium is a costly material so remember cost considerations during the design phase. Below are some tips that can reduce the expenses of working with it.

1.Material selection

Select the correct material for your application so that its high price doesn’t become excessive. For example, if a lot of material is machined away, Grade 2 titanium may be the better option as it is more machinable. Grade 5, on the other hand, is applicable for high strength at extreme temperatures.

2.Design for manufacturing

Titanium is machined as easily as high-performance steels, but it does make a few unique demands on the machinist. As such, it is critical to follow the specific DFM principles that apply to the metal. Inefficiently designed parts can slow the machining process and thus drive up costs.

FAQs

When CNC machining titanium, low cutting speeds are recommended. Tool tip temperatures can be easily increased by higher cutting speeds, which can compromise tools. Other related factors include sharp tools regularly replaced at the first sign of wear, feed rates high enough to prevent work hardening and the generous use of coolant.

High speed steel (HSS) drills are excellent for Titanium so long as it is sharp, but carbide tipped drills still provide the best results and deep hole drilling. Because titanium is not a great conductor of heat, much of the heat goes into cutting tools, highlighting the need for sharp and well-maintained tools.

Poor Thermal Conductivity – cutting tools end up taking the burden of heat generation.
“Sticky” or “Gummy” Properties – can lead to problems with long “stringy” chips as well as creating built-up edge.
Low Modulus of Elasticity – leads to spring back and chatter while machining.
High Work Hardening Tendency – further increases difficulty of machining.

Titanium has very high strength and a great strength-to-weight ratio. In fact it is only 5% less strong than steel but is 40% lighter making it great for high tech industries such as aerospace, automotive and energy.

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