Titanium and steel are two of the most used metals across several industries due to their unique properties. Both metals have advantages and disadvantages and excel in different applications.
In this article, we will provide an in-depth comparison of these two metals, outlining their different properties, advantages, disadvantages, as well as how to choose the right metal for your project.
Titanium is an elemental earth metal (the fourth most abundant metal) that, due to its high cost and demanding processing requirements, is found in high-performance industries. Titanium is alloyed with other metals such as iron and aluminum since its high melting point makes it difficult to machine or process in its pure, elemental form alone.
These alloys are a must-have for aircraft, automobile engines, marine equipment, industrial machinery and consumer goods. They offer high corrosion resistance, impact absorption, exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and a variety of other qualities, making them a great choice for outstanding performance in most cases – especially if cost is not a deciding factor.
Steel is an iron-carbon alloy that may be mixed with other metals to enhance its mechanical properties. It is popular in almost every industry due to its strength, temperature resistance, tensile strength, excellent machinability and other outstanding physical properties.
Its low cost and workability make it the preferred choice for construction, automobiles, infrastructure, industrial machines and many other sectors.
Both steel and titanium are strong materials that are common in a variety of applications. But in a head-to-head with steel vs titanium, what are the primary differences?
Titanium is a naturally occurring element that is accessible in both pure and alloy forms. The most common titanium alloy, Ti 6-4, contains aluminum and vanadium. Steel is also a man-made material composed of iron and carbon, with different proportions of additional elements that alter its qualities, depending on the intended use.
Steel and titanium differ in their crystalline structure, with titanium being a HCP (hexagonal close packed) structure and steel BCC (body centered cubic). This is one of the main reasons why titanium offers lower density and a higher strength ratio.
Because of its low density and excellent strength-to-weight ratio, titanium is a desirable material for aerospace applications, where it is usually shaped using CNC machining processes.
Steel alloys are strong and long-lasting, but they are heavy, making them excellent for situations where cost is a greater priority than weight.
Steel trumps titanium in a number of categories, including hardness. One of the reasons titanium is so difficult to process is because of its low Brinell number. Titanium alloys are prevalent in the industry because trace quantities of other metals balance titanium’s poor material hardness.
This is another area where steel generally outshines even titanium as most of its alloys are more elastic. Once again, greater elasticity makes the steel easier to machine and create custom parts, which is an extremely important characteristic as it directly affects the processing cost.
The debate on titanium vs steel will never give you a straightforward answer. In all cases, your project, conditions, and the available budget will determine which one is the better choice.
There is a significant amount of overlap in strength across the range of steel and titanium alloys, so it’s difficult to call one stronger than the other; there are grades of steel stronger than some titanium grades, and vice versa.
Titanium stands out thanks to its ability to resist corrosion and tolerate severe temperatures.
Steel alloys work well in most situations, but the presence of iron guarantees they will corrode eventually. Titanium, on the other hand, outperforms and is employed in harsh environments where persistent exposure to moisture, chemicals and other substances is expected.
Titanium is commonly employed in high-performance applications where strong thermal properties, high resistance to corrosion and a high strength-to-weight ratio are a must. Titanium is commonly used in the following applications:
Steel and its alloys are among the most extensively used metals due to their versatility. From the production of metal parts to basic building and mechanical development; the material is used across the world and in virtually every industry. These are some of its most popular applications:
Steel is the less expensive choice when compared to titanium since it is easier to produce with fewer processing requirements. But, due to the multiplicity of its forms, the costs vary substantially.
Titanium is generally 20-40x more expensive than steel per unit weight.
The most appealing aspect of titanium is its remarkable resistance to corrosion. When exposed to air, titanium forms a thin, impermeable layer of oxide on its surface. Furthermore, the oxide layer is naturally robust and highly resistant to practically all major corrosion causes, making titanium an excellent choice for any outdoor application.
Titanium has a high melting point. Titanium’s melting point of roughly 1668 °C makes it an excellent choice for high-temperature applications such as turbine jet engines.
Titanium, unlike most other metals, is not hazardous to humans or animals. This is why titanium is widely used in the medical industry. Titanium is the material of choice for medical practitioners for anything from bone strengthening to dental braces.
Titanium has many qualities that allow it to withstand high temperatures. Titanium does not shrink or expand, making it a crucial component for structural integrity.
Titanium is one of the strongest materials available. Despite being a relatively light metal, titanium has a high strength-to-weight ratio.
Titanium is great but it’s also expensive, making it prohibitive for all but the most critical of parts and projects.
Titanium has a low elasticity modulus and is easily deformed. Titanium is difficult to machine due to its low stress-to-strain ratio.
If you intend to use titanium for casting, you should reconsider and explore alternate options. Titanium’s intrinsic qualities, such as its high melting point and strength, hamper the casting process.
Its strength, low elasticity and hardness mean it can be more challenging to work with than steel and many other materials. The high unit cost of titanium also makes certain manufacturing processes prohibitively expensive due to wastage.
Titanium extraction is not easy. Not only are the extraction components pricey, but they are also risky to handle. The extraction process also causes soil erosion and other environmental issues.
Steel is one of the most widely utilized and accessible metals on the planet. It’s also reasonably priced and easy to obtain.
Steel has always been recognized for its strength and durability. Steel can also withstand and preserve structural integrity in extreme situations like tornadoes and hurricanes.
The wonderful thing about steel is that it can always be reused with well established processing, while maintaining its original strength and adaptability.
Steel, as a component, provides designers with greater freedom and customizability than other materials. Steel’s characteristics can be varied by combining it with several additional elements.
As a rule, steel exhibits excellent weldability, machinability and is very easy and predictable to form. This makes it an extremely versatile material.
Steel can lose up to 0.5mm of thickness and thus strength per year if exposed to certain environments and not properly maintained or protected.
Steel must also be adequately protected against high temperatures. While there is no threat of combustion, steel’s resistance to ‘creep’ is quite poor, meaning at high temperatures, its strength drops precipitously.
Steel isn’t deemed visually appealing for the vast majority of products. As a result, steel items typically require surface treatment or cladding to be more aesthetically pleasing.
Titanium is significantly stronger than stainless steel, making it excellent for high-stress applications such as airplane building. Stainless steel, on the other hand, is more corrosion-resistant than titanium and is therefore commonly used in food processing and medical equipment.
Titanium provides higher strength per unit mass, but steel remains the superior choice in terms of total strength. Titanium is perfect for circumstances requiring strength and lightness, which is why it’s commonly used in high performance automobile and aerospace designs. Steel is a logical choice when only strength is required, but titanium is suitable when both strength and weight are a factor.
Both titanium and steel have unique properties that make them suitable for different applications. When deciding between these two materials, consider the following factors:
Ultimately, the choice between titanium and steel will depend on the specific requirements of your project and the trade-offs you are willing to make in terms of cost, weight, strength and resistance to corrosion. By carefully considering these factors, you can make an informed decision and select the best material for your application.
In this article, we cover two true titans of the manufacturing world: Stainless Steel and Titanium. Why are they frequently compared? What are their individual strengths and most importantly, which material would be best for your next laser cut project? Onward!
At first blush, it might not be obvious why these metals are seen hanging out together so often: Stainless steel is heavily alloyed, while Titanium is often used in nearly elemental form, and if you compared two pieces with the same dimensions, the Stainless would outweigh the Titanium by close to 50%. Then there’s the cost difference: an identical sheet metal part can cost 5x more in Titanium vs. Stainless.
Those differences aside, application overlap between the two is quite common: in medical and dental fields, Stainless Steel dominated until the 1980s when Titanium began to replace it due to its higher biocompatibility and strength-to-density characteristics. Both are used in the aviation industry, from jet engines to cockpits to landing gear. In fabrication and machining, alloys of either material can be chosen which suit the application; such as welding, machining, or temperature resistance. Both Stainless and Titanium are impact-resistant, durable, and highly corrosion-resistant. So let’s dig into each material individually and use that information to get a better idea of which to use (spoiler alert: they both look fantastic coming off of our lasers).
Like mild steel, stainless steel begins with iron and carbon. Its unique characteristics are largely due to the addition of Chromium and Nickel, with Manganese, Silicon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulphur being added to various grades.
The addition of so many different alloying elements means stainless steel has a wide range of grades spanning five different families.
Each stainless family is defined by its unique crystalline structure and resultant material properties.
Ferritic stainless contains 12-18% chromium, and as its name implies, is magnetic.
Martensitic stainless steels are comparatively “high carbon”, containing up to 1.2% of that element.
Austenitic stainless is more commonly known as 300 Series Stainless and contains 18% Chromium and 8% Nickel, making it extremely corrosion resistant.
Duplex stainless has a uniform microstructure, composed of half ferrite and half austenite which gives it excellent mechanical properties, such as ultimate and tensile strength.
Precipitation Hardening stainless is where you turn if the ultimate in high strength, high hardness are critical to the application, but solid corrosion resistance is still necessary.
Pros:
Cost
Although compared to mild steel, stainless seems expensive, the cost savings associated with a built-in, corrosion-resistant finish often outweigh the difference. Because of economies of scale, the actual cost to deliver a part in stainless can often be less expensive than that same part in a lower-cost raw alloy. When compared to carbon fiber or titanium, the cost savings for stainless become quite obvious.
Machinability
Type 303 stainless is considered a “free machining” alloy, meaning it doesn’t gall or smear at the cutting tool edge, but instead produces chips which clear easily. Even the most common alloys, such as 304 and 316 can be machined with good results if the tooling is kept sharp and well lubricated.
Weldability
Any arc welding process (TIG, MIG, MMA or SA) works well for stainless steel, with filler rods such as ER308L and ER 309 being common for all-stainless assemblies. Using an E70S2 or 312 filler rod gives excellent weld strength between mild and stainless steel.
Heat Resistance
Unlike more expensive materials, such as carbon fiber, titanium, stainless has an extremely high max operating temperature: 304 can be used up to 1600°F (870°C) while specialty alloys such as 310 are temperature resistant past 1895°F.
Cons:
Cost
Cost effectiveness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. If you need stainless steel for its material properties, nothing else will do the job as economically. If what you need is a prototype or something that will never see a corrosive environment, we offer plenty of other materials that will fit the bill for a little less money: For simple fitment, consider using hardboard which also makes a great template.If you need the metal look but not the strength, try using ACM. If you need a part that will stand up to abuse but may need modification, go with mild steel to get very similar tensile strength and weight.
Weight
Stainless steel is nearly 3x more dense than aluminum which is an obvious disadvantage since both materials are corrosion resistant, unless its ultimate strength is necessary for the application. If strength AND weight are critical, however, while stainless tips the scales at around 8 g/cm3, titanium comes in under 4.5 g/cm3 with very similar strength characteristics
Chloride Environments
When subjected to harsh chloride solutions or if the environmental conditions, such as seaside or on salted roadways, many stainless alloys develop pitting which can penetrate and continue under the chromium oxide layer. For this type of industrial chemical or automotive situation, a more exotic and costly stainless alloy or another material such as titanium, which has excellent chloride resistance even at high temperatures, may be used.
Looking at the list of Stainless steel’s weaknesses, it’s clear that because of its relatively light weight, high strength, and corrosion resistance, Titanium can often pick up where Stainless leaves off, so let’s get to know this top performer a little better.
Unlike many common metals, which for thousands of years have been reduced using carbon (think, the iron smelting used to produce all steel), Titanium has only been commercially viable since the 1940s. Although it is now relatively available in many grades, the high melting point, and chemical reduction process used to produce Titanium is time and chemical intensive, leading to its high cost.
While Stainless steel only acquires its unique properties when alloyed, Titanium is an element which can be, and often is, used in its “commercially pure” form. However Titanium is also commonly alloyed, and even within the commercially pure designation there are several grades, meaning that like all other useful metals, its properties can be tailored for specific applications.
Titanium is typically categorized into either a commercially pure (CP) grade or an alloy designation, and in general, mechanical properties increase with grade number.
CP Grades 1-2
These are produced with the lowest amount of oxygen and trace iron, making them soft and ductile. This means Grade 1 is often used in pipe and tubing, or welded applications. Grade 2, which we supply as 0.04” sheet, has higher tensile strength and yield strength while remaining affordable compared to more highly processed grades.
CP Grades 3-4
These grades are significantly stronger than 1 & 2, with 4 being the strongest CP grade, but because of that they sacrifice some ductility. Both grade 3 & 4 are still weldable, and extremely durable, often being used in surgical equipment, high-value heat exchangers, chemical processing and aerospace.
Ti 6Al-4V (Grade 5)
Is the most common titanium alloy, accounting for around half the total worldwide demand of all titanium grades. In addition to the iron found in CP grades, Grade 5 also includes about 6% aluminum and around 4% vanadium, which increases the temperature resistance and nearly triples the ultimate tensile strength to 150 ksi. Because it basically sits as king of the metals hill by almost every metric, we offer Ti 6Al-4V, grade 5 Titanium in five different thicknesses. Use it in aircraft applications, engine and race car components, marine applications, or anywhere else where ultimate performance and weight reduction are critical.
Pros:
Corrosion resistance
Like other corrosion-resistant materials which oxidize to form a barrier when exposed to oxygen in the air, the surface of Titanium begins to immediately oxidize, forming titanium oxide forming a thin passivation layer which protects the rest of the material from further corrosion. Unlike some other oxide layers, the titanium dioxide layer continues to thicken over time, reaching up to 25 nm after several years, giving it a corrosion resistance almost equal to platinum.
Strength-to-density ratio
Titanium is a lightweight–in the best possible sense. It has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metallic element. Even in its unalloyed condition (which, remember, is ⅓ the ultimate strength of Grade 5) it is still as strong as some steels, at 40% the weight.
Biocompatibility
Titanium is one chill dude: getting it to react with anything is almost impossible at normal temperatures. Combine this with its low density and you have the recipe for the most prevalent hypoallergenic metal in use today in the medical industry for joints, bone repair, and any other sensitive body contact application.
Cons:
Cost
Titanium is a high-cost material which makes it economically viable only when its unique material properties are required. For things like machining, Titanium can have a cost factor up to 30x that of Stainless because on top of the material cost, it is also relatively difficult to machine.
Welding
When done correctly, Titanium can be welded with excellent results, but because of its oxide layer and high reactivity with oxygen, nitrogen and carbon, (so basically, air), when heated, it is much less forgiving than steel alloys when welded. Embrittlement occurs in Titanium’s HAZ due to weld metal contamination from gas absorption or by dissolving contaminants on the surface of the metal.
Titanium and Stainless Steel face many of the same challenges for the machinist: Common alloys of both gall easily rather than the chip breaking off cleanly at the cutter edge. Both also have a low coefficient of thermal conductivity, which means that it is easy to cause localized work hardening and promote premature tool wear. Titanium has the added challenge of being more flexible than most machined materials compared to its hardness, so care must be taken to fixture it as rigidly as possible.
However, when these concerns are addressed, Titanium and Stainless deliver excellent results when machined. For Titanium, ensure that the tool is kept in constant motion at lower speeds and higher feeds to reduce temperature buildup, along with high pressure coolant when possible.
For Stainless, choose Grade 303, which includes sulfur as one of the alloying elements, which improves the free machining characteristics of the alloy.
As always, if sheet metal parts are what your application calls for, our team of experts have dialed in the power and speed of our lasers, (and waterjets, CNCs, deburring machines, benders… you get the idea), to deliver the absolute best results for each unique material.
Type 304 is by far the most prevalent grade within the Stainless world. Likely followed by type 316, which improves upon 304’s already excellent corrosion resistance. In addition, both are easily welded, ductile enough to bend well, extremely durable, and relatively inexpensive. Here at SendCutSend we offer both 304 and 316 as well as many other materials to suit every application.
Which is better?Whether you use 304 or 316 really depends on the application. If the pinnacle of corrosion resistance and sanitary or food-safe compatibility is necessary, pick Grade 316.
Does Ti last longer than SS?This is really an application-specific question. A great place to start is the table above, and for a deeper dive, check out our article on 304 or this informative piece on Titanium. In general, both will last longer than the rest of the parts required for that particular application.
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