Titanium is a material of choice across aerospace, defence, and high-performance engineering. It offers exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and thermal stability. But while the benefits of titanium are well known, the challenge lies in how it is made.
The problem with traditional titanium manufacturing
Methods like casting, forging, and machining are slow, expensive, and wasteful. Forging titanium typically requires large, specialised tooling and vacuum-based processes. Machining from billet can waste up to 90 percent of the raw material, especially for complex or hollow geometries. This results in buy-to-fly ratios as high as 10 to 1, where most of the purchased titanium ends up as scrap.
That becomes a serious issue when wrought titanium billet can cost up to AUD 1,500 per kilogram. Multiply that waste across production volumes and titanium quickly becomes cost prohibitive, pushing many manufacturers to settle for lower performance materials like steel or aluminium.
A better method for titanium manufacturing
Titomic Kinetic Fusion™ provides a more efficient and sustainable alternative. This cold spray process builds parts by depositing metal powders at supersonic speed. There is no melting, no high-temperature distortion, and virtually no material waste.
Because the process builds near-net-shape parts directly from digital files, there is no need to remove large volumes of material. In recent builds using Titomic Kinetic Fusion™, the process achieved a buy-to-fly ratio of 1.08. That means nearly all of the titanium used ends up in the final part.
Compare that to traditional machining, where a 300 kilogram billet may yield only 30 kilograms of usable part.
| Feature | Traditional Machining | Titomic Kinetic Fusion™ |
|---|---|---|
| Buy-to-fly ratio | 10 to 1 | 1.08 |
| Material usage | ~10 percent ends up in part | ~92 percent ends up in part |
| Titanium billet cost | AUD 1,500 per kilogram | Lower cost due to reduced waste |
| Build time | Weeks to months | 12 hours (for large parts) |
| Heat-affected zones | Yes | None |
| Setup and tooling | Complex | Robotic path control |
| Suitability for on-site builds | Limited | High |
| Sustainability | Low | High |
Why this matters in aerospace manufacturing
For aerospace applications, titanium delivers unmatched performance. The challenge is making it cost effective. Reducing waste and shortening lead times is critical.
Using cold spray, Titomic has produced aerospace-scale titanium components such as a 1.2 metre titanium ring in just 12 hours of build time and 2 hours of finish machining, with only 7 percent material loss. This enables faster turnaround, lower cost per part, and greater control over supply chain risk.
A smarter, more cost-effective future
As aerospace and advanced manufacturing sectors seek better performance with lower environmental impact, traditional methods are becoming harder to justify.
Titomic Kinetic Fusion™ makes titanium manufacturing viable again. Not just for premium applications, but for any part where strength, weight, and efficiency matter.
