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Old 04-25-12, 12:12 PM
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MassiveD
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Is there a design you are copying in Ti? Ti is an interesting, and high tech metal, but not the sure fire solution. It is twice as heavy a Al, and 2/3rd as strong as steel. So you can make some stuff for which al is too soft, and steel is too heavy. On the other hand. It is flexy, and can end up providing less stiffness for a given weight that al would at far lower cost.

One interesting structure is the Bike Friday suspension boom. It is a little controversial due to concerns about fatigue, but it goes to show an application where Ti's flexibility is in play. So think carefully of what kind of characteristics you want from this thing, and whether Ti is the solution, which if you are copying some existent product, should be easy to resolve. But Ti isn't a magic bullet.

One other material is carbon fiber. Since it doesn't require welding, it is relatively easy for people to work with, and these days fairly cheap. It can be difficult to build light since very little goes a long way for stiffness, but the structure can turn out understructured in places. It can take one or two tries to get a working proto, but it is a home building option.
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