Contact usTitanium is one of the strongest materials available as well as having high corrosion and heat resistance. It’s also exceptionally light weight, making it a perfect choice for applications where a high strength to low weight ratio is required.
Grade 5 titanium is an alpha-beta alloy, made up of 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium. It accounts for around 50% of global titanium alloy usage and is readily available. Nicknamed the ‘workhorse alloy’, grade 5 is appropriate for highly demanding applications; benefiting from exceptional strength and high heat and corrosion resistance. As well as being widely used in aerospace applications, it’s also popular in the medical industry and in particular surgical implants.
Titanium is similar to machine as austenitic stainless steels. It is recommended to use low cutting speeds to minimise heat build-up. Faster speeds will significantly reduce tool life. Our engineering team here at Penta are very experienced in machining titanium and know which cutters and settings to use to get the best out of the material.
Ti-6Al-4V ELI (Grade 23) is a higher purity version of Ti-6Al-4V and its properties are particularly well suited to dental and medical applications.
Material specifications: UNS R56400, AMS 4928, AMS 4911, BS TA11 (bar), ASTM B348 (bar), MIL-STD-2154, BS 3 TA10 (sheet, strip), BS 2 TA56 (plate), BS 2 TA59 (sheet, strip), ASTM B265 (Sheet/plate)
Titanium is considered to be a difficult material to machine and tool wear is high compared to other materials. Therefore it’s recommended that titanium is only used where its properties are needed for the application – largely its strength per unit mass. If pure strength is the primary requirement, stainless steel might be a better fit.
It is worth noting that small pockets will be expensive to machine because it would require specialist cutting tools. When titanium is being machined, the tool absorbs heat so it needs good clearance to allow for cooling. A general rule is that a tool used for machining titanium should be no more than 70% of the diameter of the pocket. This extra expense needs to be factored in to a project with small pockets.
Titanium is suitable for several different treatments. Anodising and specifically sulphuric anodising can improve strength by increasing the thickness of the oxide layer. Anodising can also be used to change the colour of the metal.
See our Finishing Processes page for further information on services that we can facilitate.
Titanium Grade 5 is readily available in the UK, particularly in plate and sheet. It is also widely available in bar and rod.
Please note we do not supply stock material, the information provided is purely for design and research purposes.