Titanium alloy is commonly used for manufacturing high-precision components
- 7 11, 2020
- by JinJian
- News
The benefits of using titanium materials in automobiles are self-evident, which can greatly reduce weight, fuel consumption, improve work efficiency, improve the environment, and reduce noise. The key is how to reduce the cost of titanium and its alloy parts to an acceptable level. After research, if traditional production technology is used, the cost of rolling titanium products is 4.4 USD/kg. According to general experience, each processing step needs to double its cost, so the material cost is at least 17.6 USD/kg. After the rolled products are made into final machined parts, their cost can reach up to 44 USD/kg. Obviously, it is impossible to replace commonly used corresponding steel parts with such titanium materials. However, using powder metallurgy titanium materials is quite different. If the current price of available sponge titanium powder or scrap is 4.4-8.8 USD/kg, then the cost of net or near net shaped pressed blanks will be lower than 4.4 USD/kg; After a small amount of cutting, the cost of components such as connecting rods is 8.8~11USD/kg. Powder metallurgy can not only use low-cost raw materials, but also reduce machining costs, especially the net shape or near net shape method is an effective way to produce large-sized and low-priced automotive parts. It can be seen that powder metallurgy titanium materials have strong competitiveness.
Titanium has attracted widespread attention due to its superior properties such as high strength to mass ratio, high strength at high temperatures, corrosion resistance, and thermal stability. However, the traditional applications of titanium and titanium alloys are mainly concentrated in the aerospace and maritime industries. The main limiting factor for civilian titanium materials is product cost. Powder metallurgy of titanium is a completely different method of producing titanium parts from other technologies. Powder metallurgy produces parts using powder instead of sponge titanium; Powder metallurgy can limit the waste associated with traditional titanium production, without the need for vacuum arc remelting, electron beam melting, or plasma arc melting; Powder can be directly formed into any shape or rolled into finished products, reducing the raw materials required to manufacture a component and resulting in higher output. This process can also produce near net shaped components, reducing the waste typically associated with traditional component production, with fewer process steps, and improving output. However, there are also some issues that need improvement in powder metallurgy, the main of which is pollution control. Any pollution will render the metal unsuitable for use in components. The high structural standards in the aviation industry make it difficult for powder metallurgy titanium alloys to appear in the aviation market, but they can be fully applied to civilian fields with less strict structural requirements. Among them, the industry with the potential for large-scale application is the automotive industry. The automotive market is very large, and once titanium materials are promoted in the automotive industry, their titanium usage will far exceed the current aviation and aerospace markets.
The application prospects of civilian titanium materials
At present, powder metallurgy titanium alloys have begun to be applied in new high-performance vehicles, mainly used in engine systems and chassis. For example, in engine systems, titanium alloys are used instead of alloy steel and stainless steel to make components such as valves, valve springs, and connecting rods; It is mainly used on the chassis for springs, exhaust systems, half axles, and various fasteners. Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan has developed a powder metallurgy forging method that can effectively reduce costs. Using this method to manufacture titanium valves for automotive engines can reduce weight by 40%. The intake valve is made of Ti-6Al-4V alloy through powder metallurgy forging process, and the exhaust valve is made of composite material. The composite material is processed using a new alloy powder with borides as a strengthening agent, and the volume fraction of TiB strengthening powder is about 5%; The matrix component is Ti-6Al-4Sn-4Zn-1Mo-0.2Si-0.3O, and this composite material has excellent creep resistance.