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Heat Treating Titanium Alloys - Ion Nitriding

Titanium alloys are oftentimes heat treated using an ion/plasma nitriding process. Learn about the process and typical titanium uses.

posted On Tuesday, September 24, 2019 in Blog

Titanium use continues to increase across many industries and applications due to its excellent properties, light weight, high temperature strength-to-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance.

In spite of the positive characteristics, titanium has poor abrasion resistance and is susceptible to fretting and galling when in contact with mating components. A high coefficient of friction often limits its use.

Heat Treating Titanium Alloys with Ion NitridingHeat Treating Titanium with Ion Nitriding

UltraGlow® Ion Nitriding can eliminate galling and fretting, thus improving/increasing its use across many industries. It is not a coating, subject to peeling or spalling, but a true diffusion process that strengthens the base metal and provides a high surface hardness around 1500 Vickers. UltraGlow Ion Nitrided titanium products present a nice gold color.

Titanium Applications

While titanium use in aerospace has long been recognized, non-aerospace civilian market applications continue to increase. Typical uses include:

Firearms

Barrels, suppressors, compensators, bolt carriers, slides, upper receivers, gas blocks, firing pins

Medical

Orthopedic and spinal implants, hip stems, femoral knees, dental implants, cardiovascular implantable blood pumps,
drug delivery implants, reconstruction plates, bone screws, wheelchair axles

Marine/Seawater

Pump components, valves, yacht hardware, bolts, fasteners, offshore drilling equipment, crankshafts, spring retainers

High Performance Racing

Connecting rods, valves, break pins, spring retainers, fasteners, racing half shifts, linkage rods, sway bars, hydraulic fittings

Recreational Equipment

Bicycle componentry, fasteners, golf clubs, hiking gear, cook wear, sprockets, bike pedal shafts, axles, pins, bushings,
bike bearing races

Aerospace

Hydraulic fittings, vanes, shafts, fasteners, fuel nozzles, gears, crankshafts, engine valves, high and low press turbines,
brackets, rotors, connecting rods

To learn more about heat treating titanium, visit our titanium webpage or fill out our contact form


For a detailed metallurgical discussion of nitriding titanium alloys, see "Nitriding of Titanium Alloys" by Dr. Edward Rolinski, Advanced Heat Treat Corp. ASM Handbook Volume 4E

  1. aerospace
  2. firearms
  3. ion nitriding
  4. nitriding
  5. titanium