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Titanium and tungsten are a pair of metals that combine strength with modern aesthetics, popular in jewelry and heavy industries. They may look alike, but multiple differences set them apart.
Titanium, for instance, has a remarkable strength-to-weight ratio and is biocompatible, which makes it suitable for the aerospace and medical industries. Tungsten, with high hardness and wear resistance, is a go-to option for cutting tools. Still, there’s much more to the story.
This article explores the differences between Titanium vs. Tungsten, across various properties – physical, chemical, and mechanical. So, if you’re considering one of these materials, this article can help you make an informed choice.
A Brief Overview of Titanium Metal
Titanium is a silvery-white transition metal, found as oxides. It goes through the Kroll process to get into its pure form. It is largely resistant to water but can dissolve in acids.
Titanium provides the same strength as steel but is 45% lighter, making it an ideal choice for applications where weight reduction is crucial, such as aerospace. It is also biocompatible and hypoallergenic, so another use case is medical and dental implants.
Titanium is often machined for various uses but is also suitable for 3D printing with direct metal laser sintering (DLMS).
A Brief Overview of Tungsten Metal
Tungsten, also known as Wolfram, is a silvery-white metal found in ores (wolframite and scheelite) before extraction. In its pure powder form, tungsten is highly reactive and can ignite spontaneously.
Tungsten is a refractory metal i.e. material with excellent hardness, chemical stability, and wear resistance. Despite its high density and tensile strength, it is often alloyed with steel to enhance its strength further.
Tungsten applications include light bulb filaments, cutting and machining tools, and jewelry.
Titanium vs Tungsten: Comparing 9 Aspects
Tungsten and titanium share the same physical appearance and strong corrosion resistance. However, there are multiples among other properties.
Alloys/Grades
Titanium comes in different grades based on the type and amount of alloying element present. Titanium grades 1 to 4 are the purest with over 99% titanium content mixed with trace amounts of Iron and Aluminum.
Titanium Grade 5 is the most common and popular titanium grade with applications in aerospace, marine, and medical industries. It’s followed by Grade 23, reserved for surgical and dental applications. Grade 9 is quite popular in the manufacturing industry due to its relative ease of machining.
Unlike Titanium, Tungsten doesn’t have a straightforward alloy classification. The most popular alloy of tungsten is tungsten carbide. It is known for its highest wear and corrosion resistance, finding applications in cutting tools.
Physical Properties
Among physical properties, just the appearance of two metals is the same. The other properties vary significantly.
Titanium has a lower density (4.5 g/cc) but a strength of steel, which gives it a high strength-to-weight ratio. This low density is beneficial in aerospace applications, where you need to reduce weight without compromising strength. An example is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has titanium in about 15% of its airframe.
In contrast, tungsten’s higher density (19.25 g/cc) is beneficial in applications where you need mass for stability. Tungsten heavy alloys (WHA) ballasts are used in racing cars to add stability and traction.
| Physical Property | Titanium | Tungsten |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Silvery White | Silver gray |
| Density (g/cc) | 4.5 | 19.25 |
Thermal Properties
Tungsten’s melting is not only higher than titanium, but it has the highest melting point among all metals. That’s why its first preference is for furnace elements and rocket nozzles, where materials face extreme heat. This high melting point is also responsible for tungsten’s use a plasma-facing material (PFM) inside nuclear fusion reactors.
Titanium has very low thermal conductivity (17 W/mK), which limits its use in thermal management applications. Tungsten’s thermal conductivity is much higher than Titanium which makes it suitable for heat sinks, particularly tungsten copper heat sinks.
| Thermal Property | Titanium | Tungsten |
|---|---|---|
| Melting Point (C) | 1668 | 3422 |
| Thermal Conductivity (W/m.K) | 17 | 175 |
Mechanical Properties
Among mechanical properties, strength and hardness are most important to the manufacturers. In both aspects, we see tungsten leading much ahead.
Though Titanium’s tensile strength is much lower than tungsten it has a much higher strength-to-weight ratio due to its lower density. This lightness suits most consumer and aerospace applications. However, despite higher tensile strength, tungsten cannot withstand certain impact loads being brittle.
Tungsten also has a higher hardness and scratch resistance, which makes it suitable for various heavy-duty cutting tools, for instance, mining drill bits.
| Mechanical Properties | Titanium | Tungsten |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile Strength | 63,000 | 142,000 |
| Hardness (Moh’s Scale) | 6 | 8.5 |
Machinability
To judge machinability, hardness, and tensile strength are two important considerations. Tungsten has much higher values in both cases. These characteristics make drilling and other machining processes difficult. In fact, tungsten carbide (tungsten) is used as a cutting tool. So, machining a material that’s supposed to be a cutting tool is quite a challenge for machinists.On the other hand, titanium although hard, is relatively easier to machine than tungsten. It’s ductile and significantly less hard. Yet you do encounter multiple challenges when machining titanium.
Weldability
Titanium is weldable by all traditional methods, especially arc welding. Tungsten is difficult to weld due to its high melting point and brittleness, which can cause cracking under thermal stress. So, it’s usually joined using brazing or diffusion bonding.
Moreover, tungsten is used as a welding electrode in a technique called Tungsten Inert Gas Welding (TIG), a welding technique common for titanium.
Durability
Both materials offer exceptional corrosion resistance and are suitable for harsh environments. However, when it comes to wear resistance, there’s no match for tungsten. That’s why when you need a material to withstand wear and tear (for instance, cutting tools), tungsten is the first preference.
Cost
Both tungsten and titanium are more expensive than common industrial metals like aluminum and steel due to their expensive extraction and difficult processing. As per an estimate, tungsten is about 3 to 5 times as costly as titanium.
Applications
Since both metals have quite distinct qualities, their applications differ as well. Here’s a list of industries where each one is used:
| Tungsten Applications | Titanium Applications |
|---|---|
| Jewelry: Rings watches | Jewelry: Lightweight, hypoallergenic, and can be anodized for colored jewelry. |
| Cutting Tools: Drill bits, and machining tools for high-abrasion environments | Aerospace: Aircraft frames, engine parts, landing gear |
| Microelectronics: Contacts and wiring in semiconductors due to excellent thermal and electrical conductivity. | Automotive: High-performance exhausts, connecting rods |
| Welding: Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding electrodes | Medical Implants: Hip replacements, dental implants |
| Nuclear Reactors: PFM, Radiation shielding | Sports Equipment: Golf clubs, bicycle frames |
| Automotive: Ballast weights |
Titanium vs Tungsten: Which One to Choose?
This article has outlined the characteristics and differences between these two metals. Titanium has a high strength-to-weight ratio, suiting applications where weight is a concern – like airplane frames, automotive parts, or lightweight jewelry. Its biocompatibility also allows for use in medical implants.
Tungsten, with a very high melting point and exceptional wear resistance, serves more tool-oriented applications, such as cutting and welding. Its conductivity also supports uses in electronics.
Choose RichConn for All Metal Machining Needs
If you’re considering a project employing titanium, you can reach out to Rich Conn for comprehensive metal CNC machining needs. We offer CNC turning, milling and Wire EDM machining for common industrial metals including steel, aluminum, brass, copper, and nickel alloys. Contact Us, share your details, and get an instant quote today!
