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Letter 41079
Etching titanium
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We are making very small titanium parts for the consumer industry.
We are investment casting various titanium and zirconium alloys. We
want to try etching with concentrations of pure Nitric and water
rather than mess with Hydroflouric.
These are not aerospace applications although some are medical. Can I
do this?
Scott Jackson
- Fort Myers, Florida
First of two simultaneous responses -- ++++++
I can surely be wrong, but I doubt if any concentration of nitric
will etch Ti. You do not have to use HF acid which is nasty!It does
go froom being an 800 pound tiger to a wild pussy cat with lowering
%. The safer option is to replace the HF acid with ammonium bi
flouride which is a white crystal. The resulting nitric- ammonium bi
flouride solution is not much worse than the nitric alone. It does
require proper training and safety equipment. You should also talk to
your local hospital or emergency services so they can carry the
correct burn materials. If they look at you like an idiot, tell them
to look up the treatment for HF acid burns.
James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
Second of two simultaneous responses -- ++++++
Try a mixture of 5% sodium hydroxide and 5% hydrogen peroxide for
etching titanium. It is a fairly slow process, requiring possibly an
hour or longer, depending on how deep you need to etch.
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Jeffrey Holmes,
CEF
- Spartanburg, SC, USA
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