Custom Titanium Parts

Grade 2, Grade 5 or Grade 23: which titanium should the part be?

Grade 5, also written Ti-6Al-4V or 6-4 (UNS R56400), is titanium with 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium (sources 1 and 2), and it is the titanium alloy in widest use (source 2). It is the strength grade; the table below sets its ASTM B348 bar minimums beside the other two. A print that says only “titanium” gets a question back before it is priced, because the grades are far apart. Other alloys and plastics quoted on request. Name the grade on the print.

Grade 2 is unalloyed, commercially pure titanium (source 2). It has a third of Grade 5’s minimum yield strength and twice its elongation (sources 3 and 4), so it suits a lightly loaded part where ductility matters more than strength.

Grade 23 is Ti-6Al-4V ELI, for extra low interstitial. Cutting the oxygen and iron below Grade 5’s limits makes it tougher and more ductile at a small cost in strength, and it is the most commonly used medical implant-grade titanium alloy (source 2).

Which titanium parts get quoted here?

Brackets, plates and housings go through CNC milling and round parts such as shafts and spacers through CNC turning, while titanium bolts, screws and studs are quoted on custom fasteners. Titanium dowel pins made to a print are quoted as well; shafts and pins covers pin types and fits. A wire-EDM profile goes on the same quote as the rest of the part, as on any part type. Grinding a titanium feature is quoted on request; precision grinding covers the process. The aluminum and steel parts a titanium part bolts to can share its quote; the CNC machining parts supplier page covers one quote and one PO for a mixed order. Flat plates, shims and brackets cut from titanium sheet are quoted on laser-cut titanium.

Four kinds of work lean on titanium. EDC gear, from pocket tools to pendants. Medical and lab instrument parts, because titanium is one of the most biocompatible metals (source 6). Marine hardware: titanium resists seawater well enough for propeller shafts and rigging (source 2), and Ti-6Al-4V is extensively used in marine applications for the same reason (source 1). And motorsport and other weight-critical builds: at 4.43-4.51 g/cm³ (source 1) against 7.75-8.05 g/cm³ for steel (source 7), a Grade 5 part weighs a little over half as much as the same part in steel.

Titanium, 6061 aluminum or A36 steel: how do the numbers compare?

The table sets Grade 5 beside 6061-T6 aluminum and A36 structural steel on three properties: weight, stiffness and strength. Titanium is stiffer than aluminum and less stiff than steel, so a part redrawn from aluminum in the same section deflects less, and a part redrawn from steel in the same section flexes more unless the section grows. A36 is a common structural steel (source 16). A quenched and tempered alloy steel such as 4140 is listed at a minimum yield of 500-900 MPa (about 73-130 ksi), higher in smaller sections (source 17), so against an alloy steel titanium’s case is weight and corrosion resistance rather than strength. Name the grade and temper on the print.

Why do titanium parts cost more than aluminum?

Titanium parts usually quote higher than the same part in aluminum. The metal costs more: titanium is extracted from its ore by the Kroll process, a complex batch process, and that is why it is expensive (source 6). It also cuts slowly. Ti-6Al-4V conducts heat at 6.7-7.5 W/m·K, and that is one reason it machines poorly (source 1); 6061-T6 conducts about 152 W/m·K (source 8). Heat builds at the cutting edge, titanium stays strong at that temperature, and cutting it takes roughly two to four times the force aluminum does, a specific cutting force of about 1,300-1,400 N/mm² against 350-700 N/mm² (source 9). The chips carry little of the heat away, so titanium is cut at low speeds (source 10). The quote prices that time.

Stock size counts too. The quote prices the bar or plate the part is cut from and the time to cut it down, so a part carved from a large block pays for metal that leaves as chips. Where strength per dollar matters more than weight or corrosion, 7075 aluminum or an alloy steel often quotes lower; when the call is close, ask for both on one quote. What drives the price of a CNC part covers the general list, and design choices that raise a quote the features worth checking before you send the print.

What tolerances can titanium parts hold?

Titanium is quoted to the same machined bands as other metals: typical machined tolerance is ±0.005 in, ±0.001 in on critical turned diameters, and down to ±0.0002 in on wire-EDM features. The CNC machining tolerances page explains how those bands are chosen.

What makes titanium harder to hold is its low stiffness. Grade 5’s elastic modulus is about 114 GPa against 200 GPa for A36 steel (source 11), so under the same stress it stretches about 1.75 times as much. In the cut, that low modulus lets the metal deflect away from the tool (source 10), and thin-walled titanium parts chatter easily, which costs surface precision (source 12). Put tight tolerances on the features that fit something and give thin walls enough section to stay put; the design review with the quote points out the ones at risk.

How is a finish or anodize color specified on a titanium part?

Anodized titanium gets its color without dye. The anodizing voltage sets the thickness of the oxide layer, from about 30 nanometers to several micrometers, and the color comes from light interfering in that layer (source 13).

A finish called out on the print is quoted with the part. For anodized titanium, name the color on the print; the surface finishes page covers the common callouts.

What should a titanium print and quote request say?

Name the grade and the product form: ASTM B348 covers annealed titanium bars and billets (source 18) and ASTM B265 strip, sheet and plate (source 14), so “Ti-6Al-4V, ASTM B348 Grade 5” names both the alloy and the product form for a part cut from bar. Give the finish as a callout and mark any surface that must stay bare. A STEP file with no drawing is quoted to a ±0.005 in general tolerance, or the one your notes name, so a tighter dimension needs a drawing or a note; what file to send covers the rule. Ask for more than one quantity, such as 1, 25 and 100, and the quote shows each.

No C of C or material certifications ship with parts by default. If your PO needs them, say so before the quote. Inspection reports on critical dimensions aren’t included by default. If you need one, ask when you place the order.

What changes a titanium part’s lead time?

Pick Rush, Standard or Extended on the quote form; titanium has no tier of its own. Rush 1-2 weeks applies to machined parts with no secondary operations. Heat treat, grinding, EDM and finishing add time, and the quote gives the real date. Lead time starts at order approval. Put your need date in the part description and the quote answers it. If the titanium stock itself takes longer to get, the quote says so. Rush CNC parts explains when the fast tier fits.

Sources

All accessed 1 October 2026. Where a figure here differs from your print, the print governs.

1. Wikipedia, “Ti-6Al-4V”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti-6Al-4V (UNS number and composition; density; thermal conductivity and machinability; marine use).

2. Wikipedia, “Titanium alloys”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_alloys (Grades 2, 5 and 23; what ELI changes; implant use; titanium in seawater).

3. Performance Titanium Group, “ASTM B348 6AL-4V Grade 5”: performancetitanium.com/astm-b348-6al-4v-grade-5/ (B348-25 covers bars and billets; Grade 5 bar minimums and oxygen limit).

4. Performance Titanium Group, “ASTM B348 CP Grade 2”: performancetitanium.com/astm-b348-cp-grade-2/ (Grade 2 bar minimums and oxygen limit).

5. Performance Titanium Group, “ASTM B348 6AL-4V ELI Grade 23”: performancetitanium.com/astm-b348-6al-4v-eli-grade-23/ (Grade 23 bar minimums and oxygen limit).

6. Wikipedia, “Titanium”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium (biocompatibility; the Kroll process and titanium’s price).

7. Wikipedia, “Steel”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel (density range for steel).

8. Wikipedia, “6061 aluminium alloy”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6061_aluminium_alloy (6061-T6 thermal conductivity, density and elastic modulus, minimum yield strength).

9. Sandvik Coromant, “Workpiece materials”: sandvik.coromant.com/en-us/knowledge/materials/workpiece-materials (titanium’s heat and strength at temperature; specific cutting force, titanium and aluminum).

10. Mark Larson, “Why Beta Titanium Alloys Pose Challenges for Machining”, Cutting Tool Engineering, 15 June 2014: ctemag.com/articles/beta-titanium-alloys-machining-challenges (low modulus pushes the material away from the tool; heat and low cutting speed).

11. Wikipedia, “Young’s modulus”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young’s_modulus (Grade 5 titanium and A36 steel).

12. Haining Gao and Xianli Liu, “Stability Research Considering Non-Linear Change in the Machining of Titanium Thin-Walled Parts”, Materials, 2019: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (thin-walled titanium parts chatter easily).

13. Wikipedia, “Anodizing”, section on titanium: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anodizing (color from oxide thickness set by voltage; layer thickness).

14. ASTM International, “Standard Specification for Titanium and Titanium Alloy Strip, Sheet, and Plate” (B265-25): store.astm.org (scope).

15. Wikipedia, “Galling”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galling (titanium’s susceptibility; seized threads; lubricants, coatings and thread inserts).

16. Wikipedia, “A36 steel”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A36_steel (density, elastic modulus and minimum yield strength).

17. Wikipedia, “41xx steel”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/41xx_steel (4140 quenched and tempered minimum yield by section size).

18. ASTM International, “Standard Specification for Titanium and Titanium Alloy Bars and Billets” (B348/B348M-25): store.astm.org (scope).