Titanium Alloys

Titanium sits between aluminum and steel in density and matches alloy steel in strength, which gives it the best strength-to-weight ratio of any common structural metal. Its oxide film is inert in seawater, chlorides, oxidizing acids and the human body, and it keeps its strength to about 400 °C where aluminum has long given up. The trade-off is price: raw titanium costs several times as much as stainless and machines at a third of the speed, so it earns its place only where weight, corrosion or biocompatibility can be measured in money.

Titanium by class

Commercially pure (Grades 1–4, 7, 11, 12)≥ 99 % Ti, O controls strength · Pd in 7 / 1155210 – 920Chemical plant, heat exchangers, desalination, anodes, medical housings — the best corrosion resistance, the lowest strength; Grade 2 is the standard, Grade 7 for reducing acids.

Alpha & near-alphaAl, Sn, Zr, Mo · Grade 6, Ti-6242, Grade 934370 – 1,100Gas-turbine compressor parts, cryogenic tanks, tubing — weldable, stable to 500 °C, cannot be strengthened by heat treatment.

Alpha-beta6 % Al, 4 % V and variants · Grade 5, Grade 2326570 – 1,075The workhorse class: airframe structure, fasteners, implants, sporting goods. Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) alone is most of the titanium ever machined; Grade 23 is its low-oxygen implant version.

Beta & near-betaV, Mo, Cr, Fe · Ti-10-2-3, Ti-5553, Ti-15-316570 – 1,240Landing-gear forgings, springs, high-strength fasteners, formed sheet — the strongest titanium (to 1,300 MPa) and the most cold-formable before aging.

Choose titanium for

Airframe and engine fittings, fasteners and brackets where every gram matters; implants and surgical instruments; heat exchangers, pumps and piping in seawater or chlorine chemistry; racing, bicycle and consumer parts sold on weight; and cryogenic hardware — Grade 5 ELI stays tough to liquid-hydrogen temperatures. Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5) covers about 60 % of all titanium use.

Look elsewhere when

Cost is the driver and the part is not weight-critical (7075 aluminum or 17-4 PH stainless give similar strength for less), stiffness matters more than strength (titanium is only half as stiff as steel), the part slides against another metal without a coating (titanium galls badly), the service temperature exceeds ~550 °C (nickel alloys), or the part needs to be cut fast in volume. Titanium also has poor wear resistance and a low thermal conductivity that makes it a difficult heat sink.

Yield strength against elongation at break, every titanium grade

No materials in view have both of these properties.

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Titanium by application

Aerospace structure and fasteners: Grade 5 annealed or STA for fittings and brackets; Ti-10-2-3 and Ti-5553 for landing-gear and high-load forgings.
Seawater, chlorides and chemical plant: Grade 2 for seawater and oxidizing chemistry; Grade 7 (Pd) or Grade 12 (Mo-Ni) where crevice corrosion in hot brine is a risk.
Implants and surgical instruments: Grade 23 (ASTM F136) for load-bearing implants; Grade 4 for bone screws and dental; Grade 2 for housings and instrument bodies.
Tubing, formed sheet and frames: Grade 9 (Ti-3Al-2.5V) for hydraulic tubing and bicycle frames; Ti-15-3 sheet cold-forms like stainless and then ages to full strength.
Heat to 500 °C: Compressor discs, blades and exhaust hardware — near-alpha alloys hold creep strength where Grade 5 softens.
Cryogenic hardware: Ti-5Al-2.5Sn ELI and Ti-6Al-4V ELI stay ductile to 20 K — rocket tanks, valves and cryo-pump impellers.

FabAgentAI

AI suggestions — verify with an engineer before ordering. Estimates are indicative; the quote page prices your exact geometry.

Manufacturing notes

CNC machining

Feed per tooth mm/tooth

Ø6 mm · 3-flute carbide end mill

Distance the cutter advances between successive teeth (chip load). Published per material; independent of tool diameter.

6061-T6 has the highest feed per tooth (0.0508 mm/tooth); Ti-6Al-4V the lowest (0.0127 mm/tooth).

n = 1,000 v_c / (πD)v_f = f_z × z × nD = 6 mm · z = 3 flutes · diagram not to scale

Titanium cuts at 30–40 % of the speed of steel: low surface speed, high feed, sharp carbide, flood coolant and rigid fixturing — it springs away from the tool and work-hardens if rubbed. Grade 2 machines easily; Grade 5 is the standard; beta alloys and STA-condition parts are the slowest. Thin walls chatter; leave stock and finish in a second pass.

Sheet metal: CP grades and Grade 9 bend cold at generous radii (2–3 t); Grade 5 sheet is hot-formed or bent in the annealed condition with springback allowance. Ti-15-3 is the exception that cold-forms readily and is aged afterwards.
Welding: TIG or electron-beam under full inert shielding — including the root side and trailing shield. CP, alpha and Grade 5 weld well; beta alloys weld but need post-weld aging. Any blue or gray discoloration means contamination and an embrittled joint.
Heat treatment: Stress-relieve after machining (480–650 °C) to hold tolerance. Grade 5 can be solution-treated and aged for ~15 % more strength at a cost in toughness; beta alloys rely on STA for their strength. Always in vacuum or inert gas above 500 °C — titanium absorbs oxygen and hydrogen.
Finishing: Bead blast, brushed or polished as machined; Type II or III anodize for color and marking (the color is interference, not dye); PVD TiN / DLC or hard anodize where the part slides. Titanium does not need a coating to resist corrosion.

Most-quoted titanium grades

Grade	Class	Yield, MPa	Tensile, MPa	Density, g/cm³	Machinability	Weldability	Best for
Grade 5	Alpha-beta	880	950	4.43	Poor	Very good	The default titanium structural part
Grade 2	Commercially pure (Grades 1–4, 7, 11, 12)	380	440	4.51	Fair	Excellent	Corrosion service, chemical plant
Grade 23	Alpha-beta	850	930	4.43	Poor	Very good	Implants and medical devices
Grade 9	Alpha-beta	570	690	4.48	Poor	Very good	Tubing and frames
Ti-6242	Alpha & near-alpha	930	1,000	4.54	Poor	Good	Engine parts to 500 °C
Ti-10-2-3	Beta & near-beta	930	1,000	4.65	Poor	Fair	Highest-strength forgings
Grade 6	Alpha & near-alpha	810	860	4.48	Poor	Very good	Weldable aerospace titanium
Grade 4	Commercially pure (Grades 1–4, 7, 11, 12)	550	620	4.51	Poor	Very good	High-strength CP titanium
Grade 3	Commercially pure (Grades 1–4, 7, 11, 12)	420	500	4.51	Fair	Excellent	Higher-strength CP titanium
Grade 1	Commercially pure (Grades 1–4, 7, 11, 12)	220	300	4.51	Fair	Excellent	Pure formable CP titanium

Finishes for titanium

All 111 finishes

75 of our 111 surface finishes take titanium: 15 recommended outright, 37 with process care, 23 in limited cases. Each finish opens to its datasheet — thickness, hardness, salt-spray hours, spec codes and the titanium-specific notes — and the configurator prices it on the grade you pick.

Finish	Group	On titanium	Thickness, µm	Hardness, HV	Salt spray, h	Cost
Titanium Color Anodizing	Anodizing, conversion & passivation	Yes	0.03–0.2	—	—	$$
Electropolishing	Anodizing, conversion & passivation	Limited	removes 5–25	—	—	$$$
Stainless Steel Passivation	Anodizing, conversion & passivation	Limited	0	—	—	$
Electroless Nickel Plating	Plating & metallizing	With care	5–75	450–1,000	100–1,000	$$$
Nickel-PTFE Composite Plating	Plating & metallizing	With care	10–25	250–500	—	$$$$
Copper Plating	Plating & metallizing	Limited	5–30	50–250	—	$$
Anti-Fingerprint Oleophobic Coating	Paint, powder & polymer coatings	Yes	0.01–2	—	—	$$$
Cerakote	Paint, powder & polymer coatings	Yes	20–30	—	500–1,000	$$$
Electrophoretic Coating	Paint, powder & polymer coatings	With care	15–35	—	500–1,000	$$
Diamond-Like Carbon Coating	PVD, CVD & thermal spray	Yes	1–3	2,000–5,000	—	$$$$
Aluminum Chromium Nitride PVD	PVD, CVD & thermal spray	With care	1–5	2,900–3,400	—	$$$$
Aluminum Titanium Nitride PVD	PVD, CVD & thermal spray	With care	1–5	3,200–3,800	—	$$$$
Bead Blasting	Mechanical finishing & post-processing	Yes	0	—	—	$
Brushed Finish	Mechanical finishing & post-processing	Yes	0	—	—	$$
Deburring	Mechanical finishing & post-processing	Yes	0	—	—	$
Laser Marking	Marking, decoration & colour	Yes	0–50	—	—	$
Mechanical Engraving	Marking, decoration & colour	Yes	50–500	—	—	$$
Chemical Etching	Marking, decoration & colour	With care	5–100	—	—	$$$

57 more finishes accept titanium — see the full material × finish matrix →

Titanium — frequently asked

Grade 5 or Grade 2 — which titanium do I need?

Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) when the part carries load: it has three times the yield strength of Grade 2 and is the aerospace and medical standard. Grade 2 when the job is corrosion resistance — tanks, tubing, heat-exchanger plates — where its lower strength is irrelevant and its better formability, weldability and price matter.

Is titanium stronger than steel?

Per kilogram, yes: Grade 5 has about the yield strength of 4140 steel at 57 % of the density. Per cubic millimeter, no: the best titanium reaches ~1,300 MPa where maraging steel reaches 2,000, and titanium is only half as stiff. Titanium wins when the part is sized by weight, steel wins when it is sized by stiffness or by cost.

Why is titanium so expensive to machine?

It conducts heat poorly, so the cutting edge runs hot; it has a low modulus, so it deflects away from the tool and chatters; and it reacts with the tool material at high speed. Cutting speeds are a third of steel and tool life is shorter. Design for it: generous radii, no thin unsupported walls, and stock finish where possible.

Is titanium biocompatible?

Yes — CP Grades 1–4 and Grade 23 ELI (Ti-6Al-4V ELI, ASTM F136) are the most used implant metals: the oxide film is inert, the metal is non-toxic, non-magnetic and MRI-compatible, and bone bonds to it. Grade 5 (standard oxygen) is used for instruments and external devices; the ELI grade is preferred inside the body for fatigue life.

Can titanium be welded and anodized?

Welded, yes — TIG under complete inert-gas shielding (any oxygen contamination embrittles the weld). Anodized, yes, but not for protection: titanium anodizing produces interference colors (gold, blue, purple) used for identification and cosmetics, plus a thicker Type III film for anti-galling. Corrosion resistance comes from the bare metal.