Sword-hammering machine

[Lycosa]

^
Any more names for them-thar grooves or lines or whatever they are?

 

[atavist]

Thanks Atavist. New and strange alloys can have great properties, but it takes a bunch of research and experimentation to figure out how to bring out those properties. Grade 5 titanium alloy is about 4% vanadium and 6% aluminum, which makes it way different than pure titanium, just like alloying elements dramatically change the properties of pure iron. The beta stuff I'm using right now is alloyed with 10% niobium, which is very heavy and makes the alloy beta metastable and highly heat-treatable, not to mention it's small amount of iron alloyed within, that has as strong of an effect on titanium as small amounts of carbon has on iron!

The one thing that seems to have the most dramatic and positive effect on titanium alloys, though, is simply the long process of hammering out the titanium billet. Without being hammered out, the metal really does seem to be a bit soft to hold up to hard, abusive strikes when it's ground thin!

Glad I wasn't the one who mentionee fullers... you brought that on yourself Mecha.

Back on topic... based on the above what is it exactly that makes something titanium... when I hear titanium I thin A60v40 type alloys...
Steel is generally defined as a an iron alloy with a carbon content of .2 to 1.5%
... what exactly makes something a titanium??

 

[Mecha]

It's when titanium is the base metal, and the alloying elements are added to have an effect on the titanium. 6al4v is like the all-around titanium alloy because it pretty much does a good job for anything you would want titanium for; it's what's usually referred to when you hear "titanium," and it accounts for the vast majority of the structural titanium alloy stock that's made. A really nice alloy in my opinion for damn near anything.

Titanium is similar to iron, in that it's usually used as a base metal to which are added alloying elements. Steels are all iron alloys, with many different elements added to radically change their characteristics, and their potential, such as stainless-steels.

Copper alloys are my favorite: especially the bronzes!

It gets weird though. There are superconducting magnets in the particle accelerators that are 50/50 titanium and niobium. Titanium beta alloy 15-3-3-3 is only 75% titanium, the other 25% is all alloying elements.