Advantages and Disadvantages of Titanium (Also in Cutting Tools)

It may happen that you need to use drill bits with TiN coating, so with titanium nitride. This makes the work much easier to continuously drill hard metals. Yet, even if this solution seems the most convenient, there are still better options under certain conditions: those that involve TiAlN. That is, titanium-aluminum nitride. Before proceeding, however, also evaluate the disadvantages and advantages of titanium in this sector so focused on performance.

When you decide to drill hard metal, you must always choose appropriate drill bits. Sometimes they are made of high speed steel (HSS), other times you prefer the Widia solution and hard metal. But when titanium comes into play, there are always pros and cons to evaluate, advantages and disadvantages. Before buying a TiN or TiAlN bit, it's better to explore the topic further and discover the conditions.

What is Titanium and Why is it So Sought After?

Let's start by introducing this material: titanium is a metallic material very abundant in the Earth's crust, although its extraction and refining are complex and expensive processes like the reduction of TiCl4 with magnesium.

It is defined, from an engineering point of view, as a light structural metal with excellent strength-to-weight ratio. So, it weighs little and supports large loads. Furthermore, it can deal with corrosion in a way that other materials can hardly match.

What are the Strengths of Titanium?

Let's start with strength. Titanium has mechanical strength similar to many alloyed steels but weighs much less. This is why it is used in many extremely high-performance sectors like aerospace, where you have to save every single gram while maintaining robustness. Furthermore, titanium has great corrosion resistance, even surpassing stainless steel.

Complete biocompatibility makes titanium perfect for any type of implant and prosthesis, but what interests us are especially the technical and mechanical properties. Let's talk, for example, about resistance to high temperatures: titanium alloys maintain excellent mechanical properties even at very high temperatures. They expand much less than steel or aluminum, guaranteeing dimensional precision. This is why we often find bits coated in TiN and TiAlN like those in the Krino catalog.

Choosing a bit coated in titanium TiN offers you several advantages. First, it dramatically increases the surface hardness of the bit that you can use for stainless steel, alloyed steels, cast iron and thick sheets. Since this material reduces friction, you can find excellent results if you use titanium for serial work, perhaps on a column drill with high speeds.

What are the Drawbacks of Titanium?

The first negative aspect to consider regarding titanium: the economic cost. Extraction requires the Kroll Process, which uses magnesium and is particularly demanding. So, also not very economical from a financial point of view.

Then, it is also difficult to weld and, more generally, to machine: if you need to drill titanium, for example, you must use high-quality HSS-Co bits because the heat generated does not dissipate into the workpiece or chip: it remains on the tool's cutting edge, which must have excellent resistance capabilities from this point of view. Now let's do the opposite exercise: when should you avoid using titanium-coated bits?

First, when you drill wood and plastic. Titanium coating serves no purpose on soft materials. A good HSS drill bit or one specific for wood is more than sufficient and costs less. The same applies if you need to drill aluminum. And if you work at very high temperatures without coolant, TiN (golden) begins to degrade. Better to switch to TiAlN (black/purple coating) which resists up to 900°C. This does not mean that a TiAlN bit is always suitable in any case.