Bogotá D. C., jul. 03 de 2012 - Agencia de Noticias UN- From strength testing (machining) of titanium, Jorge Andrés García, a UN Material Science and Technology PhD candidate hopes to improve the quality of this material.

García stresses the importance of learning how to better process titanium, as it is a key material for the biomedical, aerospace and chemical industries, as well as for the manufacturing of various other specialized parts. “If we don’t really understand it, we can’t guarantee the quality of what we are producing with it”, he says. 

This is a light weight material, whose volume is half that of steel but with twice the strength. It also maintains its structural properties at extremely high temperatures (600ºC), unlike steel. Although it can be used as a hip implant or a bone screw, if the quality is inadequate it may break. 

Therefore, this project was focused on us becoming better acquainted with the quality of the manufactured product. This is an experimental research project in order to study the material on a micro-structural basis measuring tension, residual stress, microhardness and microfissures generated by shearing and various types of defects. 

Machining is a severe and tortuous process, which cuts the metal. This produces high temperatures which damages the surface, the most important structural part of the material. 

This project represents the culmination of the first phase of García’s doctorial thesis.  That being the design of an experimental assembly of a vertical four-axel machining tool (in order to obtain complex forms), performed at the UN Mechatronics lab. 

“The human and physical resources here at UN enables us to perform this type of machining work. Once we produce the part we take samples of it to analyze the surface, and then we also analyze them micro-structurally in order to determine their quality”, says García. 

“This is a contribution to both national and international industry in the methodology to follow in terms of manufacturing planning processes in order to obtain parts from this material. It is very important that Colombian industry continually develop new capabilities in order to produce new products, and enter into a world market with specialized parts, manufactured with high technology numerically controlled machines”, finally says García.  

(Por:Fin/FGA/sup)

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