Titanium ring attributes and constructions

Titanium rings are jewelry rings or rings made primarily of titanium.The actual composition of titanium can vary, such as "commercial pure" (99.2% titanium) or "aircraft grade" (mainly 90% titanium, 6% aluminum,4% vanadium),titanium rings are often made in combination with other materials,Examples include gemstones and traditional jewelry metals.Even with these differences in composition and materials,titanium rings are often referred to as titanium rings if they contain any amount of titanium.Rings made of titanium are a modern phenomenon, widely available in the market around the 1990s.Titanium rings have several unique properties: they are biocompatible (hypoallergenic), lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and have the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any crystalline metal.

Construction

Titanium rings are manufactured using solid titanium rods, tubes or sheets which are cut to the desired ring shape and size.This metal can be processed using the same equipment and the same engineering processes as stainless steel.Common rolling and welding jewelry making techniques are not suitable for titanium,although they can be made by welding in an inert atmosphere using, for example,a laser welder.

Attributes

Titanium is a popular jewelry material because of its various unique properties.Titanium is biocompatible (often called hypoallergenic), or non-toxic to humans.Likewise,titanium rings will not react with wearers who are allergic to other jewelry materials.It is highly resistant to most causes of corrosion including seawater, aqua regia, chlorine (in water) and some acids.However, it is soluble in concentrated acids.Titanium rings are therefore practical jewelry for those who regularly swim in the ocean or in chlorinated pools. This is in contrast to some traditional jewelry materials such as silver, brass and bronze, which are prone to tarnishing or other deterioration.Titanium rings generally have a higher fatigue resistance and strength-to-weight ratio than most other metals.Titanium rings are tough but resizable.The number of reductions and increases is limited.In an emergency,they are harder to cut than gold rings; titanium rivals steel for saw cut resistance.

Anodizing

The anodic oxidation of titanium ring is the process of forming an oxide film on the surface of titanium through electrolytic process to produce color.In the case of titanium rings, this process is performed after machining.Oxidation changes the color of plain titanium (usually silver, depending on composition and process) and improves corrosion resistance.The anodizing process is very simple: the workpiece is immersed in an electrolyte, usually cola, and a DC voltage of about 100 V is applied.The voltage controls the thickness of the anodization and thus the color.Dyes are not required to color anodized titanium.The color of a titanium ring depends on the thickness of the oxide coating,which in turn is determined by the anodizing voltage.The graph on the left shows the chromatographic range achievable by anodizing.These colors are simply different wavelengths of light,created by constructive interference between the light reflected from the surface of the oxide layer and the light reflected from the underlying metal surface.

Titanium composition

Titanium can be alloyed with many other metals to enhance or modify the properties of titanium.The most common alloying partners of titanium are aluminum,vanadium, iron,molybdenum and copper.Each changes the properties of titanium for a different purpose for example,copper can be used to harden titanium.One of the most common components of titanium rings is known as "aircraft grade" (also known as 6AL-4V or 6-4) titanium because the component is known for its use in aircraft construction (however, it is also used in medical,marine and chemical processing purposes).A mixture of 6% aluminum, 4% vanadium and 90% titanium (with traces of iron and oxygen; up to 0.25% and 0.2%, respectively), it is the strongest and lightest of any other known composition.Aerospace grade titanium is commonly used to make titanium rings due to its favorable and suitable properties (compared to other titanium components) and wide commercial availability.