PDA

View Full Version : Ti - Anyone Machined/Used This?



BigGreenMachine
01-24-2008, 01:48 PM
60% heavier then aluminum but twice as strong. 45% lighter then steel and in most cases as strong.


Has anyone made Ti bits for their trike?

nate b
01-24-2008, 09:53 PM
no, but I've got some stuff on the snowmobile( jack shaft, drive axle,tie rods,steering shafts, studs.) . It's getting kinda pricey too!

SWIGIN
01-24-2008, 09:54 PM
its real tricky to weld.....i dont remeber how tricky but i do know its way to expencive to just make stuff out of and mess around with.

some pipes are titanium

my buddy at HREATV told me he saw on tv or read in the paper about alot of the titanium parts are realy justa odd aluminum alloy and not titaium at all.....who knows

BigGreenMachine
01-24-2008, 10:16 PM
SWIGIN, you seem to be in the know about this stuff. How would billet aluminum fair as a swingarm, front trike axle or shock linkage bolt? (shock linkage bolt is like 1inch diameter so strength really isn't taken away there is it?)

SWIGIN
01-24-2008, 10:21 PM
the bolts will break

i used to break my 200x front axle back in the 80s

as for the swingarm id just go with thin wall chromoly if weight is a concern.

i never seen a aluminum swingarm hold up to a proper beating.

pluss a billet swingarm would weigh a ton

Billy Golightly
01-24-2008, 11:18 PM
I once got the grandiose idea of machining myself a Titanium swingarm bolt, I mean common, how trick would that be! And then, I looked at some Titanium hex prices on sites like Mcmaster Carr and MSC Direct and found I'd be spending over $300 a piece of hex big enough to make a swingarm bolt out of a FOOT LONG! Sure put a damper on that idea, YIKES.

Walsh here in town uses quit a bit of Ti on A-arms and some other parts. I remember asking them about it one day while I was in there and from what I remember they were telling me that you have to be a lot more careful with the shield gas coverage. Like you have to almost weld inside some sort of semi-boxed in area to keep it from floating away, or something tothat effect. I've also read on a few other welding forums that you need a secondary gas coverage seperate from the tig torch to act as a purge on the backside or inside of whatever you welding, so you'd need another hose actually putting sheilding gas up inside of the tubing your were welding if thats what you were doing.


As for the aluminum bolts, I'd use them, but only in certain areas and ONLY if I knew for an absolute fact they were made out of some tough *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* like the 7xxx series aluminum. I can see using an aluminum bolt on things like fenders, gas tank mounts, sead mounting maybe, reservoir, maybe even the radiators but stuff like engine mounts, foot pegs, and anything to do with suspension I'd leave steel or titanium if I was rich :lol:

brapp
01-25-2008, 12:37 AM
i have turned a few thigns out of titanium this week for sylvania the company that makes light bulbs and bullets for the military and its some tough stuf fto work with and verry verry heavy and if there is a small enough piece to get 2 swingarm bolts out of it

69HemiGTX
01-25-2008, 04:31 AM
Al - 0.0975 lb/ci

Ti - 0.1628 lb/ci

Steel - 0.2836 lb/ci

The alloying materials of steel, aluminum, and titanium have the greatest effect on their relative strengths, be they tensile, shear, or modulus of elasticity. When welding with Ti, the shielding gas is indeed the most important thing to consider. The problem is that Ti is very susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement, which causes hydrides to be formed in the weld bead, leading to inflexibility and weld failure. These hydrides do not dissolve into the alloy and are not part of the grain structure. This is why most professional titanium welders work with sealed vacuum chambers. They put the parts in, seal it shut, pull the atmosphere down to nearly zero psi, then fill it with either an argon/CO2 or helium/argon/CO2 mix, effectively purging the hydrogen and eliminating the chance of embrittlement. If you see someone welding titanium without a chamber, no matter how much gas they are flowing, walk away. There is no way to be 100% sure that there will be no embrittlement without a chamber. That's my personal opinion about welding titanium as I work in aviation, and I expect nothing less than the right way to do it.

As far as bolts, I'm kinda spoiled because I work with Ti bolts nearly every day, especially on UH-60s. The entire main rotor head hub and mast are forged titanium! :eek: You'd be amazed what gets thrown out around here. Ever picked up a 1/2" shank, 4" long bolt that weighed about as much as a pack of cigarettes? :naughty: I'm not sure if they're Ti, but I know they aren't aluminum. I wouldn't suggest aluminum bolts for anything that takes a significant load. As mentioned earlier, things like fender and gas tank bolts are perfect candidates for aluminum fasteners if you've got the money for them.

SWIGIN
01-25-2008, 04:55 AM
great info

The Goat
01-25-2008, 06:14 AM
www.liquidmetal.com

this is the future. contacting them tomorrow to see who applies coatings.

Bigbore
01-28-2008, 10:14 PM
Titanium is ridiculously expensive! It's not for anyone to play with unless you've got deep pockets and cost ISN'T a factor.

I've got 2 patents pending for a Gun Hammer made from Ti. I've been making Titanium AR-15 Speed Hammers for almost 6 months now. I’m just getting finished running a batch of 400 hammers. To give you an idea of what the cost is... a 4'x8'x .250" plate is $12,000! 3 years ago Ti was running about $38- $40 per pound, now it's almost $97 per pound. The raw cost of material for each .750" x 2" hammer is almost $12. The final hammer packaged is $129.

The cost to make ATV parts is cost prohibitive to say the least.

It sucks to machine. It tends to smear as endmills wear faster in Ti than in steel. I've been running A2 tool steel, that’s non-machining, and it cuts easier and nicer that Ti.

TeamGeek6
02-01-2008, 01:02 PM
Ti is only useful (read-cost effective) in commercial - consumer stuff if the parts can be designed thin as possible to save material. Then you get to waste the cost difference -plus on engineering time.

Whats a rod of CP TI worth? I have one if anyone wants to buy it.
0.625" x 10.25"