Feasibility of Using Titanium Machine Turnings in Powder Metallurgy Processes

The use of titanium machine turnings has been identified as a possible ultralow-cost method to produce titanium powder. However, very little data are available on the viability of this method. Machine turnings pose additional engineering complications, such as contamination and reduced milling efficiency. In this study, commercially pure titanium and Ti-6Al-4V machine turnings were converted into hydrogenated powders and used in the hydrogen sintering and phase transformation process to form densified Ti-6Al-4V specimens. The powders produced from the machine turnings and the resulting bulk samples were evaluated for their comminution behavior, microstructure, tensile strength and elongation, chemistry, and density.