Titanium is specified when the design needs the strength of steel at close to half the weight, or corrosion resistance that no coated steel can match.
Grade selection
- Grade 2 (commercially pure) — softer and highly formable, excellent corrosion resistance, used for chemical, marine and medical applications where strength demands are moderate.
- Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) — the workhorse alloy. High strength, heat treatable, used extensively in aerospace, motorsport and medical implants.
- Grade 9 (Ti-3Al-2.5V) — a middle ground often used for tube and hydraulic applications.
Manufacturing reality
Titanium machines at roughly a quarter of the cutting speed of aluminium, wears tooling faster, and can ignite as fine chips if the process is not controlled. That is why the plan matters: correct tooling geometry, high-pressure coolant, controlled feeds and a process that keeps the cutter engaged rather than rubbing.
The result is a part with an excellent strength-to-weight ratio that will not corrode in seawater or in the body — worth the cost where the application genuinely needs it.