Titanium Parts

Two stacked reasons: the raw stock costs several times what aluminum does, and the metal cuts slowly because it traps heat at the cutting edge, so the same geometry takes meaningfully more machine time. Material plus time is the whole answer. When the requirement is real, titanium is still usually the cheapest material that meets it.

Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) if the part carries load: it’s roughly three times stronger and is the default for machined parts. Grade 2 if the job is corrosion and formability rather than strength, as in chemical or marine fittings. If the print just says titanium, expect a clarifying question, because the two behave very differently.

Yes, and without dye: an applied voltage grows a clear oxide layer whose thickness creates the color, so blues, purples, golds, and bronzes are all available. The color is part of the surface rather than a coating, so it won’t chip or peel, but a hard scratch can cut through it. Note the target color on the print; the shade varies slightly with surface prep.

Yes, badly, and it’s the most common field complaint with titanium hardware. Titanium-on-titanium threads can seize on the first assembly. The fixes are standard: anti-seize on every titanium thread, a stainless or steel mating fastener where possible, or a thread insert in high-cycle joints. If the design threads titanium into titanium, flag it in the quote notes so the insert conversation happens early.

By the numbers that usually matter, it competes: Grade 5 yields around 120 ksi, in the neighborhood of heat-treated alloy steels, at a little over half the weight. What it doesn’t match is stiffness; titanium’s modulus is roughly half of steel’s, so a titanium swap flexes more unless the geometry changes. Strength-to-weight is titanium’s win, rigidity is steel’s.