New Technology leads the low-cost titanium ( 4 July 2008 )

Titanium is the first choice for parking system and bulletproof materials, but its expensive price limits the application. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) develops the non-melt consolidation process. This technology can reduce the energy import during titanium production and cut the cost of making titanium alloy from titanium powder down to 50%. The titanium alloys with this technology can be used for brakes rotors, artificial joint replacements, and military armored vihicles.

This non-melt method is to roll the titanium powder directly to titanium sheet, then make them to porous-net-structure by extrusion and consolidation. This new technology has more advantages than tranditional process. With this new process, titanium powder remains solid form during entire procedure, this save a tremendous amount of engery import and reduce the amount of scrap, and allows for new alloys and engineered composites.

Powder metallurgy was used to make metal materials, compound and other products, but it hasn't worked well for titanium manufacture because of high manufacture cost of the conventional titanium powder. This low cost technology of titanium powder manufacture, developed by ORNL, international Titanium Powders, AMETEK and BAE System, maybe get this problem through.

In the coming few years, scientists hope to make other products including vihicles with these erosion-resistant titanium alloy to reduce the weight of the products and save some fuel.- by KIng Titanium