With a density of about 60% of steel- or nickel-based alloys, titanium offers significant weight savings. Moreover, its tensile strength is greater than that of austenitic or ferritic stainless steels; it is exceptionally corrosion resistant and exceeds the resistance of stainless steels in most environments. Plus, it is non-magnetic and has good heat transfer properties with a melting point higher than steel alloys.

With such a resume, it is hardly surprising that titanium has long been one of the favoured materials in the aerospace industry. Titanium was first used in the 1950s for military aerospace applications, followed, in the 1960s, by its earliest use in commercial aerospace airframes and gas turbine engines. Today, as the aerospace industry continues to develop and grow, so does the demand for titanium and specialist alloy products – a demand that AMETEK Specialty Metal Products (SMP) continues to meet. From high-purity titanium powders and titanium master alloys to high-precision specialty alloy strip, foil and wire, as well as seamless titanium tubes, AMETEK SMP’s products are renowned for their outstanding quality and reliability.

AMETEK SMP includes six of the best-known businesses in the metallurgical industry: Reading Alloys, Hamilton Precision Metals, Superior Tube and Fine Tubes, AMETEK SMP Wallingford and AMETEK SMP Eighty Four, each with an individual history that in some cases stretches back more than 75 years. For both civil and military aircraft and space programmes, AMETEK SMP supplies in a variety of materials: Master alloys used for controlling chemistry in the melting of titanium and super alloys used in aircraft airframes and engines; Metal powder coatings that provide thermal, abrasion, and corrosion resistance for surface enhancement; Al/Cr and Al/Co donor vapour coating materials; Metal powders for both plasma and high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) applications; Precision tubing for fuel lines, actuation and instrumentation; High-pressure tubes for hydraulic and pneumatic control systems up to 5,000 psi; Foils for diaphragms in sensor applications; High purity Nickel strip for battery applications, heat exchangers and bellows; Brazing foils for jet engine fan blades and housings; Shaped wire for throttles, push-pull mechanisms, fuel shutoffs and fasteners.

Within the AMETEK SMP division, Reading Alloys is regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern titanium industry having been instrumental in the development of many of the titanium alloys available today, including Ti 6A/4V. The company also uses the Hydride-Dehydride (HDH) process to produce Ti-6Al-4V powder. Master alloys and powder coatings made with Reading Alloys’ high-performance materials are key elements for future generation products in the aerospace markets, where superior precision and quality are essential.

Hamilton Precision Metals rolls 0.0001" to 0.0004" (0.0025mm to 0.01mm) thick precision brazing foil for use in the production of jet engine fan blades and structures.

AMETEK SMP Wallingford manufactures custom shaped stainless wire for a range of aerospace applications. One such application for a highly-toleranced, shaped wire is for the production of push-pull mechanisms required for the remote activation of aircraft controls such as throttle, fuel shut-offs, landing gear and emergency functions. The wire is used by the manufacturers of these devices to build a bearing-controlled linkage for applications requiring high tension and compression forces and tight radii for the cable assembly. These finished assemblies use AMETEK SMP-shaped materials to build an inner ball-bearing controlled race between two outer races and fully enclosed in high strength protective sheathing.

The UK-based Fine Tubes and US-based Superior Tube both produce seamless tubes in titanium for the aerospace industry covering grades 1, 2, 5 (Ti 6Al/4V) and 9 (Ti 3Al/2.5V). Both companies are highly experienced in cold-working and other processes required to convert a specific grade of titanium into a product that can deal with the most-challenging conditions. Fine Tubes, for example, is among the few suppliers qualified to produce the high- pressure titanium tubes used in the hydraulic systems of the Airbus A350 and A380 operating at up to 5,000psi. Fine Tubes also manufacturers tubes for Airbus Defence and Space as well as Airbus Helicopters.

In terms of general market trends, the aerospace industry remains as strong as ever with record high levels of growth which show no indication of slowing down in the near future. Indeed, the industry is currently growing at an annual average rate of 7% and, according to some industry analysts, is in the middle of a 12-year ‘super cycle’. These statistics clearly justify the investments that AMETEK SMP has made, and continues to make, in the ongoing development of its ability to work with titanium, from both a metallurgical and manufacturing perspective.

To take one customer as an example, while Airbus has recently announced the end of its A380 manufacturing programme, the production of its latest single-aisle aircraft family is set to increase significantly over the next few years – and it is worth bearing in mind that manufacture of the A350XWB requires no less than 18 times more titanium than its sister A330.

Of course, the demand for cost reductions and performance improvements across the aerospace industry will continue to put pressure on every company in the metals industry to find new solutions to new problems. But being a world leader in the use of titanium and the development of titanium alloys places AMETEK SMP in a very strong position to remain as a critical aerospace supplier.

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