North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to Orange County Convention Center in October 2024. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.
North America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event
Over the past decade, the popularity of titanium has increased dramatically across a variety of industries. Its biomechanical properties have proven to be a good fit for medical devices and implants while the strength-to-weight ratio is appealing to the automotive and aerospace industries.
As hydraulic press manufacturers, we are frequently approached by OEMs who want to start forming titanium but don’t know where to start. They recognize the inherent advantages of titanium-formed parts (lightweight, strong, bio-compatible, etc) and see the benefits of bringing the manufacturing process in-house, however, choosing the right process and machinery to fit their needs seems daunting.
So let’s take a deeper look at the three most common methods used to form titanium to uncover the advantages and disadvantages of each:
COLD FORMING
Manufacturers tend to use cold forming for titanium applications primarily because it is a process they already know. Dedicated machinery isn’t required, PPE is simple, and initial cycle times are typically lower than other methods because heating of the material is not a factor. While the shorter cycle times are appealing, they do not take into account the extra time needed for secondary finishing applications (annealing, flanging, trimming, etc). Additionally, due to the elongation characteristics of titanium, springback, galling, and cracking are common by-products during cold forming.
HOT FORMING
Hot forming is rapidly becoming the preferred method to manipulate titanium into complex shapes because of the multiple advantages it offers and the increasing availability of high-quality forming equipment. During the hot forming process, both the tool and blank are heated up to 1,600°F, in a dedicated hydraulic press, to increase the malleability of the material. This introduction of heat temporarily changes the material forming characteristics resulting in near-net-shape parts with consistent wall thicknesses and virtually no springback or cracking.
Since the heat acts as a forming agent, tonnage requirements on hot forming presses are typically much lower than those on cold forming presses. To improve forming efficiency, additional press options like bed shuttles, insulated doors, data acquisition, and Active Leveling Control can be included in the machine’s design.
SUPERPLASTIC FORMING
While some similarities exist between hot forming and superplastic forming, the SPF process has its own unique characteristics. SPF uses extreme temperatures (up to 2000°F) in conjunction with argon gas to form high-strength alloys into complex shapes in a single step. During the cycle, the heated material is clamped between a cavity and a plate. The material is then forced into the cavity by argon gas that is injected into the forming chamber. Since the argon gas acts as the second die half, mated tooling is not required. Although cycle times are slower with SPF (20-40+ minutes), the process can result in dramatic material elongations.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PARTNERS
While all of the above processes can result in quality titanium parts, the machinery you choose will ultimately determine your success. As with any new forming operation, it is important to evaluate as many machinery OEMs as possible and choose a partner who completely understands your manufacturing processes and expectations as well as the application requirements.
Still not sure which process is right for you? Attend FABTECH session F64: Hot Forming Titanium on Wednesday, Nov. 7 to learn more about titanium forming and how to overcome the barriers of entry into this emerging market and stop by and visit the Beckwood Press Company at FABTECH in Booth A2053.
FABTECH 2024
About the Expo
North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to Orange County Convention Center in October 2024. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.
