How is Nitinol powder produced?

 Overview of Nitinol Powder

Nitinol, also known as Nickel-titanium alloy, is a metal alloy of nickel and titanium in which the two elements are present in roughly equal atomic percentages. Different alloys are named according to the weight percent of nickel, such as nickel. Nitinol 55 and Nitinol 60. It exhibits shape memory effect and super elasticity at different temperatures.

Nitinol is a shape memory alloy, a special alloy that can automatically restore plastic deformation to its original shape at a certain temperature. The expansion rate exceeds 20%, the fatigue life is 7 times that of 1*10, and the damping characteristics are 10 times that of ordinary Compared with springs, its corrosion resistance is better than the current best medical stainless steel, so it can meet various requirements in engineering and is an excellent functional material that can meet the needs of medical applications.

How is Nitinol powder produced?

Nitinol is extremely difficult to manufacture due to the need for very tight composition control and the excellent reactivity of titanium. Every atom in titanium bound to oxygen or carbon is an atom taken out of the NiTi lattice, which changes the composition and lowers the phase transition temperature. There are two main melting methods:

Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR)

This is achieved by creating an arc between the raw material and the water-cooled copper contact pads. Melting takes place under high vacuum, and the mold itself is water-cooled copper.

Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM)

This is done by heating the raw material in a crucible (usually carbon) using an alternating magnetic field. This is also done under high vacuum.

While both methods have their own advantages, VIM smelting process material has proven to have fewer inclusions and therefore higher fatigue resistance compared to VART smelting process. Another research report pointed out that the use of ultra-high-purity plasticizers in raw materials can reduce the number of inclusions and improve fatigue performance. Other methods are also available on a boutique scale, including plasma arc melting, induction skull melting, and electron beam melting. Physical vapor deposition is also used on a laboratory scale.

Hot working of Nitinol is relatively easy, but cold working is difficult because the alloy's enormous elasticity increases the contact between the die or rollers, resulting in enormous frictional resistance and tool wear. Machining is very difficult for the same reason, and to make matters worse, Nitinol has poor thermal conductivity, making it difficult to remove heat. Grinding (abrasive cutting), electrical discharge machining (EDM) and laser cutting are all relatively easy.

Applications of Nitinol Powder

Nitinol powder can meet the needs of various engineering and medical applications and is an excellent functional material. In addition to its unique shape memory function, memory alloys also have excellent functions such as wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high damping and superelasticity.

The tensile strength of Nitinol can reach 1000 MPa, which means that it takes more than 100 grams per square millimeter to break it. This force is stronger than ordinary steel, and it also has good "memory" properties and corrosion resistance.

Nitinol is 50% nickel and 50% titanium, which means 50% nickel and 50% titanium. The temperature range of the shape memory can be adjusted by the control element. Generally, the higher the nickel content of Nitinol, the lower the working temperature. When it contains 55% nickel and 45% titanium, the memory alloy can work at room temperature.

People take advantage of this property of shape memory alloys to make pearl necklaces and bracelets made of shape memory alloy wires, as well as bras woven from shape memory alloy wires. Wearing these decorations and health products on the body will restore the original curvature and rigid body temperature under the action, thus playing the role of decoration and health care. In addition, you can use Nitinol to make orthodontic wires to straighten deformed teeth according to human oral temperature.

Nitinol can be used to replace traditional actuators (solenoid valves, servo motors, etc.), such as the simple hexapod robot Stiquito.

Nitinol springs are used in fluid thermal valves, where the material acts as both a temperature sensor and an actuator.

The alloy is used as autofocus actuators in action cameras and optical image stabilizers in mobile phones.

Alloys are used in pneumatic valves for a comfortable seat, which has become the industry standard.

The alloy Chevrolet Corvette contains a Nitinol actuator that replaces the heavier electronic transmission to open and close the hatch to release air in the torso, making it more accessible.

Nitinol powder price

The price of nickel-titanium alloy powder will vary randomly with the production cost, transportation cost, international situation, exchange rate and supply and demand of nickel-titanium alloy powder in the nickel-titanium alloy powder market. Tanki New Materials Co.,Ltd. aims to help industries and chemical wholesalers find high-quality, low-cost nanomaterials and chemicals by providing a full range of customized services. If you are looking for Nitinol powder, please feel free to send an inquiry to get the latest Nitinol powder price.

Suppliers of Nitinol Powder

Tanki New Materials Ltd., as a global supplier of Nitinol powders, has extensive experience in the performance, application and cost-effective manufacturing of advanced and engineered materials. The company has successfully developed a series of powder materials (including water-based stearic acid emulsion, water-based calcium stearate, zinc stearate, etc.), high-purity target materials, functional ceramics and structural devices, and provides OEM services.

Nitinol Powder Properties
Other Names	nickel titanium, shape memory nitinol, NiTi, Ni-Ti,
	nickel-titanium shape-memory alloy (SMA)
CAS No.	52013-44-2
Compound Formula	NiTi
Molecular Weight	N/A
Appearance	Black Powder
Melting Point	1300 °C
Boiling Point	N/A
Density	6.45 g/cm3
Solubility in H2O	N/A
Poisson's Ratio	0.33
Specific Heat	0.20 cal/g·°C
Tensile Strength	895 MPa (Ultimate, fully annealed)
Thermal Conductivity	0.18 W/cm (austenite), 0.086 W/cm (martensite)
Thermal Expansion	11.0 x 10-6/°C (austenite), 6.6 x 10-6/°C (austenite)