Titanium Manufacturing Process

[xylenol15]

Wow, big contrast with steel making. With iron it's just like BURN BABY BURN!, everything in the Ti production process seems so much smaller and controlled by comparison

[johnyboytown]

They replaced it with satellites. They go way way faster than that aeroplane but aren't as cool.

[danbowkley]

Kinda scary that the actual top speed of the SR-71 is still classified to this day. Makes me wonder that, since it was retired, what exactly did they replace it with?

[martinmartiini]

what factory is that?

"Lake Erie" was written on a machine

[bombarderoazul]

This wonderful elemental metal is created during the explosion of a star called a supernova.

[darthvader5300]

Why are they not using a much cheaper process that uses electromagnetic induction crucibles that simultaneously levitates the raw titanium ore concentrates and applying a high vacuum using a tesla jet pump to maintain the high vaccum and anything non-metallic falls off, thus purifying the metal in the process while smelting it? And anything metallic still present in it is then removed in a high vacuum electric arc furnace which further refines it.

[ckeryk]

@darthvader5300 perhaps this method is cheaper on a materials side of things, but the increase in the amount of energy required is phenomonal. and its because the raw ore isnt pure titanium, and you cant suck apart molecules.

[Slungs1]

that aircraft is over 30 years and looks like it should be designed and build todays date.. and still are one of the fastest.. amazing.

[ckeryk]

@Slungs1 still *the* fastest. non-experimental, jet anyway. NASA has produced faster vehicles, but those were rockets and function off a different principle

[WildBuck007]

If the metal they are melting is so hot, that other metals liquify at such temperatures.

Exactly what is it they melt those ingots in??

Wouldn't the furnace melt it self before the ingots?? XD

[TheEngineer801]

@WildBuck007 Alloys my friend alloys. A good online periodic table is:

ptable.com

[badpanda84]

@WildBuck007 Actually the melting point of titatium is alot lower than most other metals

[GerryRich100]

I was also told they used Sodium which would be a quicker process but more dangerous.

[ckeryk]

@GerryRich100 sure you could react two of the most volatile elements, but i wouldnt reccomend it. think, explosions

[pogsx69x]

Man my skeleton was made by Titanium however I am no much to wolverine... Damn...

[pogsx69x]

Man my skeleton was made by Titanium however I am no much to wolverine... Damn

[SimAlex20000]

first introduced to service in 1964, i believe.

[jacktheripped]

@SimAlex20000 and the first paper design was in 1958...

[PanzarMetal]

BTW the SR-71 was built from USSR Titanium.

[la2elahael2allah]

I am preparing for an engineering report with the topic of "Titanium manufacturing". Do you know any sources that might help?

[la2elahael2allah]

I am preparing for an engineering report with the topic of "Titanium manufacturing". Do you know any sources that might help?

[yosefspot]

wow thats crazy i have so much of it in me i did not know how it was made shit

[unid3ntifi3d]

so what is the furnace used to heat titanium made out of?

[jonathan102]

@unid3ntifi3d probably ceramic.

[tartupets]

expencive chemicals: magnesium and chlorine. Common mix: MgCl2 in mineral water... really expensive when it comes to sourcematerial...BS

[rklionel2]

That's a lot of power consumption to get to the end product.

Scrapping those sr71 blackbirds will be some lucrative recycling.

[XTwina]

@rklionel2 And a crime to aviation history

[MrGreenTrees420]

im a tiger...RAAWWRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

[iwillworshipu]

thats me in the crane!!

[EarlRausch]

Wow I have a new respect for the metal that's in my hip!

[mensager1964]

@EarlRausch in my back and neck also,,

[TitaniumLSRP]

I'm Titanium =D

[pgpete]

@TitaniumLSRP - No! - I'm Titanium !

[apostolisxa]

graphene will replace titanium in many fields.

[cubancigarlover]

This is a cool program, I think they should try to find another element or chemical that is cheaper to use other than magnesium.

[ckeryk]

@cubancigarlover the main reason is because they need something more reactive than flourine to force them to separate and form a different precipitate. magnesium is the only element which fits this requirement, so if they are to use this process it must involve magnesium. only way to cheapen it would be through pursuing a different method of refining.

[cubancigarlover]

@ckeryk Wow, that's a informative comment here. With some metals, it's currently more effective to gain economies of scales with the current refining process to cheapen it. There's always a way to improve efficiency.

[goatmilk257]

@cubancigarlover carbon

[uzerofutube]

Titanium is the perfect metal, low density, high strength and hardness, extremely corrosion resistant, nonmagnetic, high melting point, common in the earth's soil, what's making it so damn expensive is the Manufacturing Process.

[Straightsix76]

@uzerofutube its incredibly undevalued atm, I have just bought a fine .999 1oz bar for £10 off ebay. Crazy cheap when you think how much gold is per oz. Ti could be the next 'precious' metal IMO

[solverh]

[0:09] “…the fastest aircraft ever built!” Hmm, impressive as Blackbird is, still the X-15 actually could go a lot faster. The SR-71 may be the fastest endurance plane, but it sure isn’t the fastest ever built.

[trespire]

@solverh The X-15 was an amazing piece of flight hardware but it was an experimental air craft and was never used in regular service.

BTW, the X-15s' air frame was made of an Inconel alloy.

Cheers

[solverh]

@trespire Thanx for your wonderful response :)

[MrWhatwasmypassword]

i thought the finished product came out of the ground lol

[lailaneyluv]

There's my dad at 4:20 no joke.

He gave me one of those titanium "buttons" before.

[weaternpi]

Holy SHit thats a long process

[pasiilgautaves]

My personal experience says you should try KINETICDIECASTING . com ! The best aluminum die casting parts!

[Humster]

Wait a minute.... it takes all this work to make Ti?

So, how in the world anyone discovered it in the first place?

[killer2611]

lol i have 3 titanium plates in my face

funny how they use that shit in planes too

[drakio99]

titanium at $2 a pound

The company makes 22,000 tons a year that's

44,000,000 pounds

They make 88 Million dollars a year :D damn I wish I owned that company.

[DjinnJuggler]

@drakio99 they "make" 88 mill, yes, but they probably spend 60 million on all the chemicals and mining proccess, so it's only a 20-40 million dollar company if I had to guess..

[Draxis32]

Titanium cannot be welded by normal process like the electricity arc, cause as he melts for a milisecond he will react with the oxygen in the air, or even the freaking Nitrogen will react with it, detroying it.

[JonThm]

They weld Ti with an electric arc, flooded with inert gas. By the time O gets in, the metal has cooled. Hard, but it can be done!

[Draxis32]

Oooh yeah now i remenber that Oxygen must be taken away from any welding process that's why they use that special wire that burn producing CO i think that repels the oxygen from the atmosphere.

But by "inert gas" you mean someone from the noble gas family dont you?

[JonThm]

CO is toxic. They shield the hto metal with He - helium.

[Draxis32]

I know CO is toxic, but he is rather common inside industrial process like Iron manufacturing as well.

But....HELIUM?!

They must be outta of their freaking minds!

Helium prices are going sky-high in a a non-stopping process cause the only way you can obtain helium is through atmospheric gas fractioned distillation and Helium has a problem, he goes off the planet so we are doomed to run out of Helium in the future.

[JonThm]

TIG = tungsten INERT gas. Welding uses so much of it. MIG = metal inert gas.

[Fortispectus]

@Draxis32 helium is one of the most common elements in the universe next to hydrogen, approximately 25% of the universe is made of it. 73% is hydrogen, the other elements are less than 2%. I wouldn't worry

[Draxis32]

@Fortispectus Yes, you are indeed right, its one of the most common elements, IN UNIVERSE! NOT IN EARTH

[sleeper393]

@JonThm i know im a tig welder and its quite easy to weld using this process

[albionsseed]

@sleeper393 Electron beam welding is the most common in the aerospace industry.

The welding is done in a vacuum chamber.

[jonquinn11]

you don't need a super welder - you can buy a Mig or Tig at a welding supply store that will do the job. shielding not a big deal either, especially with Mig. I've never Tig welded Ti.

now the bike makers will still need to hire a guy who has some training to weld. I don't think you want that entry level, unless you like bubble gum weak welds.

[jonquinn11]

if you want to weld up a bike frame of anything else out of Ti, you can do the Tig process or Mig weld. you'll need some inert gas shielding, like helium or argon. you don't want oxygen contamination in the weld-it will substantially weaken it.

don't believe these people who say it is so complicated - they need some excuse to charge rediculous sums for the bikes, probably by a factor of 100x.

why x-ray a bike frame weld - I doubt it. its not like its in a nuclear reactor.

[jonquinn11]

your comments on welding are mostly wrong. when making tubing, it does get welding in a small airtight box filled with an inert gas (like helium or argon), and the weld is made with the Tig process - small tungsten electrodes about the size of a pencil or in some cases a laser.

[MrLoooooooo]

Is titanium the strongest metal ever?

[lexichronicle]

no. and there is more than one meaning to the word strength; yield & ultimate tensile

[foongkumwai]

Is Titanium more expensive than carbon fiber ?

[MASTERCON12]

sometimes, it depends on the quality of the tubing

[lexichronicle]

Add to that... if you want super strength for lightweight, you want 6al4v, an alpha / beta phase structure. Heating that also ruins the a/b structure at the weld site. Been interested in metals since I was 11. Bought a mig welder aged 13, taught myself to weld, now own a 6k ESAB set... titanium is a bitch to work with and maximize it's cost

[lexichronicle]

it's also ridiculously picky whenever it gets hot, since it reacts with anything in the halides really well, like chlorides or oxides. Welding it in the air with a normal TIG torch isn't really doing it justice, you end up with oxygen in the titanium - the cup shroud is no where near the best. Cleaning it or touching it with solvents or gloves that have chlorine in their manufacturing process also mess it up.

[MASTERCON12]

x-ray welding is what they usually use for bike manufacturing

[lexichronicle]

tig welding is what they use for bike manufacturing. and by doing it in the open air, regardless of the shroud, the atmosphere isn't pure enough and oxygen soaks into the titanium

[MASTERCON12]

I meant that x-ray welding is used for titanium welds

[lexichronicle]

do you mean, the weld's are x-rayed? x-ray welding, as far as I know, still isn't really used much. a lot of welds are x-ray on critical work though to make sure they're fracture free

[MASTERCON12]

to weld titanium used for bike frames (most of the time) They either use an airtight thing, or x-ray welding. I have spoken with jones from jones bikes at interbike, and thats what I have learned

[lexichronicle]

the airtight box is dead on. although, a lot of companies don't use those since it's real expensive and a pain to work inside. it's called a glovebox.

i'm still not sold on the x-ray thing. only people like boeing usually have their own x-ray scanners. an x-ray welder would cost a fortune and be lethal, i don't think they even exist outside of a lab setting atm. electron beam welders are used sometimes, but again, inside a sealed box in a lab type environment for satellite parts

[MASTERCON12]

Ive read in multiple bike magzines, from jeff jones, and from other people in the industry that the mass produced titanium bikes (not custom) usually use a form of x-ray welding.

[lexichronicle]

NO NO NO, YOU'RE WRONG! WRONG! :P just kidding, if you've seen it in a few places I'll check it out. I'm just about to start riding hopefully, but it's a kawasaki 100cc two stroke, so I could hear my brother about a mile away on it even surrounded by hundreds of other bikes. we have an easter egg run where a few thousand riders dress up as bunnies and take easter eggs to the local hospital for the kids, which is a fun sight

[MASTERCON12]

lol I am talking about a bike, not a motorcycle, silly. I didnt even know that there were titanium motorcycles.

[lexichronicle]

oh, righty. i still dunno, i've read probably too much about pedal bike construction and haven't seen x-ray welding on any. which brands use it? i've read all about things like monocoque frames on the treks and how different metals create a different feel, e.g. mag, alu, various titanium alloys, cro-moly etc. i have a bmx now that cost 1.5k UKP and weighs ~18lbs, love it to bits. when i finally have the time, i may try welding my own up with the esab (caddy 2200i, sweeeeeet)

[MASTERCON12]

Jones bikes, Moots, and a lot of other high end titanium bike companies like linksey and merlin use it. I have 4 chromium/molybdenium infused steel bikes that I ride now.

[usernamepicphail]

incredible metallurgical procedures. no wonder it took the human race so long to be able to make metal from these ores.

it's easy to see why Ti cost so damn much when you see what goes into producing it, and the fact the U.S military utilises so much of the worlds annual production

[lexichronicle]

"and the fact the U.S military utilises so much of the worlds annual production"

yep... if you check out the prices for titanium, you see major dips when the US is using it in some new aerospace project. The B1B Lancer bomber used a massive lump of titanium for a central boom. You can see a significant drop in titanium prices when the project was put into production.

And back to the video, surely they're making some kind of hexagonal product in that press, not sheet?

[dswilliamson2112]

Dude Go take a ride on a quality titanium mountain bike and you will appreciate this awesome metal.

[lexichronicle]

Interesting to see them doing the forging in open air. Yes you can get liquid titanium and cast it.

Commercially pure titanium actually has a lower strength than most steel / stainless, close to high end alu. Alloys approach stainless and heat treats just about exceed it. There are steels with higher strengths, but they're also more brittle (high carbon content etc).

Titanium is only amazing because it's strong AND light. It's not universally strong. And you sure pay for the weight reduction.

[ydna2]

I partially disagree. For instance we use some Ti grades as an upgrade from SS due to the flexibility while at the same time being lighter than steel. The items we machine it into are very thin, lighter than a comparable part made from aluminum. But we can only do it because we design stress reliefs into the part and let it be very thin-walled.

But like so many other metals out there, it just depends on what grade you're working with. Universally strong...no way.

[dragonart777]

you meen cold casting titaniam no i my salf never seen or hard of that but i might be rong

i do alote of cold casting with my corp and i done silver bronze coper and plastic but i never hard of titanium cold casting

if you know of it late me know lol

but thin again it would not be real

as cold casting is a 2 compound  and one that is razin more less look fell of aluma

[InToonamIsLegacy]

? I can't understand you. Why can't you cold cast?

[marek0086]

this is why Titanium is so strong.....because its FORGED.....not CAST!

Can u get Titanium liquid?......if u can liquify it then you can cast it.

[southwestpark95]

Titanium is so strong that not even any human can bend it.

[Heds123]

if gold [most malleable metal] plus titanium [strong metal that is very resistant to corrosion] = best armor?

[drakio99]

actually Titanium , tungsten , nickle , would be the best

[marek0086]

wait a minute....thats BILLET Titanium. But is there such a thing as cast Titanium??

[InToonamIsLegacy]

Do you know now?

[marek0086]

thats insane.