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Titanium Alloys

Strong as steel.
Half the weight.
Biocompatible.

Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4V ELI are workhorses of aerospace and medical manufacturing. 5-axis CNC machined with carbide or PCD tooling, climb-milled to avoid work hardening.

01 · Grades & variants

Titanium grades we machine.

Commercially pure titanium (Grade 1–4) for corrosion applications. Ti-6Al-4V alloys (Grade 5 and 23) for load-bearing aerospace and medical. Specialty alloys on request.

Grade 2

Commercially pure · corrosion

Unalloyed CP titanium with excellent corrosion resistance, especially in chloride environments. Marine, chemical, desalination. Good formability, welds well.

Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V)

Aerospace · general

The most common titanium alloy — "the workhorse". 6% Al + 4% V. High strength, good fatigue, heat-treatable. Aerospace structural, medical general.

Grade 23 (Ti-6Al-4V ELI)

Medical implant grade

Extra Low Interstitial version of Grade 5 — lower oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, iron. Better fracture toughness and ductility. Standard for orthopedic and dental implants.

Grade 9 (Ti-3Al-2.5V)

Tubing · high-pressure

Intermediate strength, excellent formability. Hydraulic tubing, bicycle frames, sport equipment.

Grade 12

Heat-resistant · industrial

Ti-0.3Mo-0.8Ni. Improved crevice corrosion resistance over Gr.2. Power plant heat exchangers.

Grade 19 (Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr)

High strength · spring

Beta titanium alloy. Spring temper for aerospace springs, connectors. 1,200 MPa yield.

02 · Why this material

What makes titanium special.

Few materials compete on strength-to-weight, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility combined. The trade-off is price and machining difficulty.

Strength-to-weight

50% lighter than steel at similar strength. Critical for aerospace where every gram of orbital mass costs dollars to lift.

Corrosion resistance

TiO2 passive layer resists seawater, chlorides, most acids. Nearly inert in human body fluids — unlike stainless which releases trace nickel.

Biocompatibility

Bone osseointegrates directly to titanium surface. Standard for hip stems, knee components, dental implants, bone plates.

Thermal stability

Retains strength from cryogenic to 400 °C. Modulus close to bone (110 GPa) — reduces stress shielding in implants.

03 · Applications

Titanium applications.

Aerospace structural

Engine pylons, landing gear, bulkhead fittings — Grade 5

Orthopedic implants

Hip stems, knee components, bone plates — Grade 23 ELI

Dental implants

Screws and abutments — Grade 4 CP and Grade 23

Marine hardware

Shafts, fittings, heat exchangers — Grade 2

Chemical processing

Heat exchangers, reactor vessels — Grade 2, 7

Racing & motorsport

Connecting rods, exhaust, suspension — Grade 5

Sporting goods

Bicycle frames, golf clubs — Grade 9

Defense & firearms

Bolt carriers, suppressor bodies — Grade 5

Medical instruments

Forceps, bone saws, retractors — Grade 2 CP

04 · Finishing

Titanium finishes.

As-machined

Typical Ra 1.6 µm with sharp carbide tooling. Slight golden tint from heat at high cutting speeds.

Bead blasted

Uniform matte grey — standard medical finish. Pre-passivation prep.

Passivated

Nitric or citric acid removes embedded iron and enhances passive layer. Required before anodizing.

Anodized Type II

Decorative color via oxide-interference. Gold, blue, purple, green — no dye. Used for surgical tool identification.

Anodized Type III

Hard wear-resistant coating (15+ µm). Dental screw heads, implant surfaces.

Plasma-sprayed HA

Hydroxyapatite coating on bone-contacting implants promotes osseointegration. Through specialty partners.

Electropolished

Mirror-smooth surface for fatigue-critical implants. Reduces crack initiation sites.

Colored oxide

Heat-coloring yields gold (20 V), blue (30 V), purple (40 V), teal (50 V) without dye.

FAQ

Titanium questions.

Three factors: raw material cost (titanium ore refining via the Kroll process is energy-intensive), slow machining (cutting speeds are 1/4 of steel, so machine time is 4× longer), and expensive tooling (carbide and PCD tools, frequent replacement). Raw Ti-6Al-4V billet is typically 6–8× the cost of equivalent steel; finished parts are often 10–15× the cost of steel equivalents.
Both are Ti-6Al-4V by nominal composition. Grade 23 ELI has stricter limits on interstitial elements (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen), yielding better fracture toughness and ductility — critical for implantable devices that must survive fatigue loading for decades. Grade 5 is adequate for aerospace; Grade 23 is mandatory for surgical implants.
No. Pure titanium and Ti-6Al-4V are effectively non-magnetic (paramagnetic with very weak response). Titanium is used in MRI-compatible implants, spacecraft, and sensitive electronic equipment where magnetic interference must be avoided.
Yes. DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) prints Ti-6Al-4V Grade 5 and Grade 23 on our metal 3D printer. Enables topology-optimized aerospace brackets, complex medical implant geometry, and internal lattice structures impossible to machine. See our <a href="/metal-3d-printing.php">metal 3D printing page</a> for details.
Yes. Every titanium batch is documented with heat number, mill certificate (EN 10204 3.1) showing chemical composition and mechanical test results. Lot traceability flows through production and is documented on the shipping paperwork. For aerospace and medical customers, this is standard at no cost.
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