Manufacturers have specific requirements for a project, so choosing the best alloy for an application is key to having an optimized final product. When it comes to designing parts for the aerospace industry, it’s critical that the material is light, strong, and can withstand high heat, all while allowing planes to fly as fast and efficiently as possible. Titanium can tolerate corrosive elements that are no match for the other alloys. With the strength of steel at half its weight, it can also be used where strength-to-weight ratios are critical.

Like other high-performance alloys, processing titanium into metal is a lengthy process and costly, sometimes over 30 times more expensive than stainless and notably unstable. However, there is one technique that exploits the material’s strength and keeps costs down – honeycomb panels. These panels are made from corrugated, precision width strips, matched up against each other, then brazed or welded where one flat area fits up against the other. They offer maximum openness, strength per pound, and lightness, while also providing noise abatement and insulation when used as shrouds around aircraft engines. Ti has a tensile strength between 30,000 psi to 200,000 psi depending on the type of titanium. It is also low density which decreases load and strain of heavier metals while reducing the overall weight of the objects it is used to manufacture. The military specifies titanium honeycomb panels to meet strength requirements for their missile mounting case. Titanium has the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metallic element, making it an excellent choice for this application. Ulbrich, a precision reroller who supplies Titanium for this application, uses technologically advanced rolling mills to roll the Ti material down in repeated passes to 0.004” (0.10-mm) gauge; they then slit the material to .75” (19-mm) widths. The part is further processed with a precision crimp being imparted into the strip, where it is then joined via resistance welding, layer after layer.

Military aerospace titanium strip users benefit from working with precision rerollers who have expertise in material thickness control, surface finish, formability, and deep supply chain partnerships. Typical thicknesses for honeycomb range from 0.001 (foil) to 0.007” (0.03 – 0.18 mm) with most of the demand on the thinner side of the range ±3 – 5% gauge tolerances in strip less than 1” (25 – mm) wide. The rerollers create a surface area that improves welding and brazing by shot-blasting rolls to a matte or brushed finish. They continue by performing constant monitoring to ensure a highly consistent finish. To control the formability of both chemically pure material and titanium alloys, processing or alloying methods are required in concert with cold working of the material. It’s clear that titanium requires deep expertise, experience, and equipment to produce with the precision characteristics demanded by military aerospace manufacturers.

Working with a reroller who has a cultural commitment, in addition to the financial one required to be able to process this challenging metal can be extremely beneficial to part-makers within the aerospace industry. Ulbrich uses a service-center approach to slitting thin widths off mill-size coils and selling them in pancake or oscillate wound coils weighing under 60 lb. (27 kg), putting the material within reach of fabricators. Ulbrich also uses less costly lengths of welded metals to start the coil so the roll gap is perfect by the time the titanium strip gets into mill stands. Slitting is done to precisely measured lengths for the same reason.

Titanium buyers benefit greatly from working with a precision reroller for their Ti needs. Ulbrich Stainless Steel & Special Metals, Inc. is a specialty reroller in metals fabrication helping the titanium industry reduce costs so the work material can compete for nonmilitary applications. If you have a challenging application and are wondering if Titanium or one of its alloys may be ideal to meet your requirements, speak to an in-house metallurgists today!