The challenge of using titanium

Of course, no single material is all things to all applications, and titanium is no exception.

Comparison with stainless steel

One difficulty is that the material is more brittle than stainless steel and harder to pull. This makes titanium harder to use.

Although titanium can be sucked into the tube, the process does not produce the nice, smooth surface that can be created when stainless steel is pulled. Some companies can extract titanium to Ra 8-10 microinches; However, stainless steel can be drawn into significantly smoother Ra 3-4 micro inches or better.

The coarser ID on the titanium tube affects the microfluidic properties of any fluid that needs to pass through the tube. This can be a problem in applications where the smooth flow of liquids is particularly important.

For most medical device applications, the tubes will carry blood and other body fluids, which is not a problem. However, turbulence is a serious problem in applications where pipes must carry small volumes of fluid.

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