anyone know where to get some titanium machined?

areze · #1 03/19/2006, 10:57 PM

small part, about 1.5"x1.5"x1".

any refferals on where might be a good place to get it done?

Carman34L · #2 03/20/2006, 12:57 AM

you cant machine titanium. In needs to be cast into shape within a vacum. When titanium gets hot or overheated it is very volitile. Not explosive but will shoot alot of sparks and send hot chips everywhere. It has something to do with the chemical makeup of it when it reacts with oxygen in its molten form. you can cut it but cant machine it.

dattack · #3 03/20/2006, 02:56 AM

do a search on google for titanium bar. I see a lot of hits and places to buy.

saltyreeftank · #4 03/20/2006, 06:21 AM

Titanium absolutely can be machined. You just have to find a place with the right equipment to do the job. Being that it is such a small piece this is going to make the job more difficult but given that the machining is not that detailed it should not be a problem. Your best bet would be to call some different Machine shops in your area. Maybe they could refer you to someone that can get the job done.

steel3470 · #5 03/20/2006, 09:37 AM

there are many places to get it done just go here

http://www.thomasnet.com/

its a list of almost any company so do a search for your state and machineing.

fppf · #6 03/20/2006, 09:42 AM

Titanium can be machine, welded, bent, you can do just about every type of operation on it you want. You just need to know how to work with it.

Carman34L · #7 03/20/2006, 10:45 AM

huh, I was guess my dad aint as smart as he thinks. He told me that titanium cant be machined. Huh sorry for the bad info.

fppf · #8 03/20/2006, 11:28 AM

Its mainly used in Aerospace and heavy commercial Marine apps.

You are correct in saying that it is reactive. Once it hits about 700 degrees F it will react with O2 and will turn very Brittle. There is an art to working with it, but it is very possible.

areze · #9 03/20/2006, 11:49 AM

ok,2 more questions.

anyone want to shoot out a ballpark price for this sort of thing? it very straight foward; no recessed areas or anything difficult. we talking 20$, 100$, 500$?

and 2nd, seems like to get anywhere for a quote you need a cad drawing. how does a person go about getting one?

fppf · #10 03/20/2006, 12:57 PM

You need a drawing to get a quote, but you already know that.
Cost to make something depends on a lot of factors, hence the drawing.

Find a buddy with Cad and give him your napkin sketch.

areze · #11 03/20/2006, 01:28 PM

dont even need a napkin sketch

I have the physical part I need reproduced in titanium. unfortunatly that creates more problems than it solves lol.

its actually not related to aquariums, its a part for another hobby of mine, but oddly enough aquariums work with titanium more than remote control models.

currently the only options available are little rinky dink plastic parts, or soft aluminum. no one even makes a 7075 aluminum replacement. its a high stress area and Im going nuts replacing the parts every 10minutes.

crash519 · #12 03/20/2006, 01:39 PM

This is not related in any way to the machining of titanium, but have you considered the drawbacks of going to something so much stronger? A friend of mine machined SS a-arms for his remote controlled car only to hit something and bend the chassis instead of breaking the a-arm. Expensive lesson to learn! Just thought I'd throw that out there

Chrsnwk · #13 03/20/2006, 01:47 PM

one place I've read some good things about is

http://www.emachineshop.com/

they have the CAD software you need available for a free download, and you can get price quotes for anything from 1 part up to 10's of thousands of parts. You draw it, specify the machine process and material and finish and they give you a quote and a delivery schedule.

fppf · #14 03/20/2006, 01:54 PM

Why do you want Titanium then?
Yes becareful with your engineering skills, material choice is based on many factors.

areze · #15 03/20/2006, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by crash519
This is not related in any way to the machining of titanium, but have you considered the drawbacks of going to something so much stronger? A friend of mine machined SS a-arms for his remote controlled car only to hit something and bend the chassis instead of breaking the a-arm. Expensive lesson to learn! Just thought I'd throw that out there

actually I have lol. and it is a known issue, you NEED a weakest link. something has to give. so basicly where Im at is trying to make the weakest link, a stronger part, or an easier to replace part. right now the part is the wheel hub/steering linkage. very important

and it broke when I "bumped" a post at 10mph.

hopefully if I bulletproof this part itll break the tierod ends or carrier instead which are either easier to replace, or much beefier respectively. Im looking to break the tierod ends. their a 30cent part as opposed to 7$.

checking out the emachineshop link now.

areze · #16 03/20/2006, 03:07 PM

it would seem I need 5axis machining, and emachineshop only does 3 axis.

steel3470 · #17 03/20/2006, 03:17 PM

ok two questions you just want a 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 square 1 in thick peice of titanium machined??

and second I have a DXF for you of what you want here it is

well it wont let me attch it but i can email it to you.

steel3470 · #18 03/20/2006, 03:19 PM

oh and you only need 3 axis one to go in the x axis the y axis and the up and down witch is usualy z

areze · #19 03/20/2006, 04:48 PM

the part is more complex, the dimensions were just total dimensions roughly of the block it would start as.

the final part is

the 2 on the left which I believe are symetrical so they arent actually mirrors, which does save some trouble I think

Bill Wann · #20 03/20/2006, 05:38 PM

I can tell you from experiance that you are looking at thousands tomake those parts in Ti. Good luck

Evansbr · #21 03/20/2006, 05:53 PM

My uncle is a machinist, owns his own machine shop and has been doing it for a very long time. I called him and he has machined titanium quite a bit, he said that the stock is very spendy and machine time is higher than other metals, but can be done. PM me if you would like to get in contact with him.

Symantec · #22 03/20/2006, 05:53 PM

my dads shop mills Ti... not for cheep but almost all the aerospace is with Ti

Symantec · #23 03/20/2006, 05:58 PM

oh and a 5axis isnt always needed... would could use a few more opps and get it dun w/ 3axis ... my dad has a HV-630 and dose some crazy stuff with it ... then aggin it is 5axis and ..... never mind all that ... almost i stress the almost part any thing can be made with a 3axis ... i no turbian blads and cones cant but the pic above most def can

areze · #24 03/20/2006, 06:22 PM

to be realistic it would have to be less than 50$ a part. so perhaps its just a pipe dream. guess Ill have to be satisfied with aluminum or wait for someone else to do it.

toxqc · #25 03/20/2006, 06:26 PM

You can make that piece with a 3axis, and mastercam or any other programm... it will take a lot of machining but it can be done on a 3 axis... you cant do that by hand lol

by the way, there are aluminium alloys that are almost as strong as titanium