How Titanium Is Made: From Sponge to Finished Product — Complete Process

Titanium is the ninth most abundant element in Earth crust, yet expensive because production is complex and batch-based. Six stages transform ore to finished product. Stage 1 Kroll Process: Titanium ore is chlorinated to TiCl4, purified by distillation, reduced with molten magnesium at 800-900C in a sealed reactor under argon. After vacuum distillation, pure titanium sponge emerges at 99.5-99.8% Ti. Each batch takes 2-3 days producing 5-10 tons. Stage 2 VAR Melting: Sponge compacted with alloying elements into electrode, melted under vacuum in water-cooled copper crucible. Double or triple melting ensures uniform composition. Stage 3 Forging and Rolling: Ingots forged at 900-1000C in hydraulic presses up to 4500 tons, breaking down cast structure, then hot rolled to bar, plate, sheet, or tube. Stage 4 Annealing: Heat treatment at 650-785C relieves stress. Stage 5 Finishing: Pickling removes oxide scale and alpha-case, grinding and cutting to final dimensions. Stage 6 Testing: Chemical analysis, tensile testing, ultrasonic, eddy current, PMI, dimensional and visual inspection. What buyers should verify: sponge quality, double/triple VAR, forging ratio, alpha-case removal, full test reports. Ylasting Titanium operates complete production line in Baoji with in-house laboratory. Contact us for production inquiries or factory visits.