Choosing between titanium and steel

Multiform Tubes Engineering Ltd has always gone above and beyond to help its clients. We provide them with the finest services and products. Among them is the important tube expansion technique. Here, we use a number of methods to open up the ends of tubes. The final result allows you to use the tubing in all sorts of interesting ways.

It is often the case that businesses need tough, sturdy materials for their projects. When they do, titanium and steel will likely be at the front of their minds. They are normally under consideration when working with tubes in particular.

The metals come in a myriad of alloys – base metals permeated with additional elements. These help to produce a material that is greater than the element’s parts. There are all kinds of titanium alloys and many more steel ones. This can make it difficult to decide between them. By comparing the two, we hope to make your choice a bit easier.

Steel’s features

Tube expansionGenerally speaking, steel is a hard, dense, but workable substance. It responds well to heat treatment strengthening. This permits even the simplest steels to have variable characteristics. These are based on how you cool/heat the alloy. Steel is also magnetic, and is able to conduct electricity and heat readily. It comes with a great deal of strength too.

Most steels are vulnerable to corrosion because of the iron content. Stainless steels are capable of addressing this issue though. Here the chromium means the alloy develops a protective oxide to prevent corrosion.

If you require tube expansion for your utensils, make sure you contact us. We can deal with any kind of steel tubing.

How titanium works

We will move onto titanium now. It was initially purified into its metallic state in the early 1900s. It is also not as rare as many people believe. In reality, it is Earth’s fourth most abundant metal. However, it is hard to locate it in its elemental form or in high concentrations. It can also be tricky to purify, which makes it more expensive to produce.

Titanium can be tricky to form, machine, or weld as well. Although, you can heat treat it to amplify its strength. The metal comes with the distinct advantage of being biocompatible. What this means is that within the body it shall stay inert. This makes it critical for medial implant tools. Its strength to weight ratio is outstanding too. Titanium is essential for projects where you must minimise weight but maximise strength.

Start using our first rate tube expansion services today

At Multiform Tubes Engineering Ltd, we have used expansion extensively. It allows clients to adapt products so their tubes can achieve a leakproof, snug fit onto other parts. We use two methods to perform this technique. One involves us using a hydraulic expanding die. As for the second, we use a dedicated, tapered die to do the work.

Tube expansion can be incredibly useful, so speak to us today if you require it. You can rely on us to provide products for all kinds of applications.