Material of the future: Titanium - CADdent supports the TUfast team
Titanium is often referred to as the material of the future. This is primarily due to its excellent properties, which clearly stand out from those of other metals. This results in great potential and other possible applications far beyond the confines of the dental market. The TUfast team has also recognized this – more on that later.
What are the special features of titanium?
Titanium is primarily characterized by the combination of low density, good strength and excellent corrosion resistance as well as very good biocompatibility. The titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V Grade 5 used by CADdent in the additive manufacturing process is approved for use in the dental field.
Possibilities of use of titanium also outside of the dental industry
In addition to the dental industry, titanium is also becoming increasingly popular in the jewelry industry, in ophthalmic and in the field of hearing aid. The material is also in great demand in rapid prototyping. Due to the very good compatibility with human tissue, titanium is now indispensable in medical technology. The low density of titanium results in a significantly lower weight compared to other metals. Among other things, titanium alloys are therefore also popular in the aerospace industry and in vehicle construction. In addition to enabling lightweight construction, the comparatively low weight can also save CO2 and increase efficiency, depending on the application.
The idea of reducing the weight also prompted a team of students from the Technical University of Munich to contact CADdent as an additive manufacturing service provider for their project. The so-called Eco-Team "TUfast" would like to contribute to the development of green mobility and is therefore developing a concept vehicle "muc023" that is designed for maximum electrical and aerodynamic efficiency. CADdent is glad to support the TUfast team in their project with the production of several vehicle components made of titanium, which, among other things, ensure the connection of the chassis.
We can achieve enormous lightness by using the most modern technologies, by optimizing the topology of the components and thanks to the use of a light metal like titanium. In fact, the weight of the concept vehicle is just 65 kg. Together with the aerodynamically optimized vehicle shape (drag coefficient: 0.13), an efficiency of over 241 km/kWh is achieved. For comparison, the average efficiency of electric vehicles currently available on the market is 5 - 10 km/kWh. The reduction in weight and increased efficiency help to reduce the carbon footprint and fulfill the TUfast team's vision of sustainable mobility for our future.
Does the material titanium also have disadvantages?
As with any other material, there are not only advantages to be identified with titanium. On the one hand, titanium is more expensive to procure than other materials due to the complex mining process. However, since high costs can be counteracted by the efficient use of materials, this argument, which would speak against the use of titanium, can be quickly refuted. In order to optimally exploit the potential of the material and manufacturing process (additive manufacturing, LaserMelting), we recommend designs that are as thin as possible in the range of 0.5 mm - 1.0 mm, provided the desired area of application allows it.
Another disadvantage lies in the processing of titanium alloys, which, compared to other metal alloys such as cobalt-chrome, represents a significantly higher level of effort, both in the LaserMelting process and in post-processing such as the polishing. This is due to the special material properties such as the high strength and high melting point of titanium.
CONCLUSION
With 15 years of experience and expertise in the additive manufacturing of components made of precious metals (gold, silver) and non-precious metals (cobalt-chromium, titanium), we at CADdent were able to develop a reproducible and reliable manufacturing process with a workflow that makes it possible to meet the challenges of mastering the processing of titanium on a daily basis. Not only in dental technology, but also in the area of rapid prototyping, we combine high precision with high-performance materials and fast production speeds in order to realize every customer request in the best possible way. Do you have more questions? Contact us anytime here.