Titanium 6Al-4V Alloy Springs

Titanium 6Al-4V Springs

Ti 6Al-4V is known as the "workhorse" of the titanium industry because it is by far the most common Ti alloy, accounting for more than 50% of total titanium usage.

Ti 6Al-4V offers a combination of high strength, light weight, formability, and corrosion resistance, which has made it a world standard in aerospace applications. 

We offer custom Ti 64 springs and ISO 9001-certified springs to meet the needs of any project. Contact us to request a quote today!

Titanium 6Al-4V Springs FAQs

What is Ti 6Al-4V and why is it called the workhorse of the titanium industry?

Ti 6Al-4V earns that name because it is by far the most common titanium alloy, accounting for more than half of total titanium usage. It is an alpha beta alloy, with aluminum at 5.50 to 6.75 percent stabilizing the alpha phase and vanadium at 3.50 to 4.50 percent stabilizing the beta phase, and titanium as the balance. That two phase structure delivers the combination of high strength, light weight, formability, and corrosion resistance that made the alloy a world standard in aerospace. It is also the most thoroughly characterized titanium grade, so published design data is plentiful.

What are Titanium 6Al-4V springs used for?

Weight critical hardware. The alloy has excellent corrosion resistance and high strength, which makes it a good choice for marine and automobile applications, and its strength to weight ratio is why aerospace adopted it as a standard. It is also the common titanium grade in medical hardware, where biocompatibility and imaging compatibility both matter. Coiling Technologies coils springs for automotive aftermarket, vehicle suspension, electric vehicle, medical, and military work, and titanium enters those conversations when unsprung mass, payload, or corrosion life justifies the material cost over stainless or a carbon alloy.

How does the modulus of 6Al-4V affect spring rate against a stainless spring?

The table gives a modulus of rigidity of 6.38x10^3 ksi and a modulus of elasticity of 15.2x10^3 ksi, against 10.8 x 10^3 ksi and 29.0x10^3 ksi for the nitrogen strengthened stainless in the same material line. Since compression spring rate is proportional to the shear modulus, an identical geometry in titanium delivers roughly 59 percent of the stainless rate. A drop in replacement will feel soft. Recovering the original rate takes heavier wire, a smaller mean coil diameter, or fewer active coils, and that redesign has to be checked against the stress limit simultaneously.

How much weight does a 6Al-4V spring actually save?

Density is 0.16 lb./in3, the lowest in Coiling Technologies' material line, against 0.285 lb./in3 for the nitrogen strengthened stainless. On identical geometry that is a 44 percent reduction. In practice the realized saving is smaller, because the lower shear modulus usually forces heavier wire to recover the rate, so run the substitution through the geometry before committing to a weight number. It still beats Titanium Beta-C, listed at 0.174 lb./in3, which is why 6Al-4V wins the weight argument while Beta-C wins on strength after aging and on temperature.

What temperature ceiling and wire size floor apply to 6Al-4V springs?

Max Temp is 350°C (660°F) and Min Size is 0.005 in (0.130 mm). The ceiling is lower than Titanium Beta-C at 400°C (750°F), so for hot downhole work or a hot engine bay, Beta-C is the better titanium option. As with any spring material, the limit concerns relaxation and load retention under sustained stress rather than metal degradation, and a spring held compressed at temperature loses load faster than one that cycles. The 0.005 in size floor keeps fine wire work available at the small end of the range.

Why is titanium harder to coil than steel?

Three things work against it. Thermal conductivity is low, listed at 46.5 Btu/(hr/ft2/in/°F) so heat generated at the tool contact stays local instead of spreading into the wire, and that accelerates tool wear. Titanium also has a strong chemical affinity for tool materials and galls readily, so lubrication and tool surface condition matter more than they do with stainless. Third, the low modulus means more springback after forming, so tooling has to be set for it, and the alloy work hardens as it deforms. Prototyping is done in house, which is where those variables get settled.

Should I specify 6Al-4V or Beta-C for my titanium spring?

Compare four numbers off the two specification tables. Density is 0.16 lb./in3 for 6Al-4V against 0.174 lb./in3 for Beta-C, so 6Al-4V is lighter. Shear modulus is 6.38x10^3 ksi against 5.60x10^3 ksi, so 6Al-4V gives a higher rate in the same geometry. Max Temp is 350°C (660°F) against 400°C (750°F), so Beta-C runs hotter. Beta-C is a beta alloy that heat treats to higher strength and carries 3.50 to 4.50 percent molybdenum for hydrogen sulfide service, which is why it owns subsea work. 6Al-4V suits general weight critical and medical parts.

Why bring titanium spring work to Coiling Technologies?

Titanium punishes a fragmented supply chain, because forming behavior, thermal cycle, and inspection all interact, and every vendor handoff adds a place for the record to break. At Coiling Technologies the engineering, spring design, prototyping, coiling, heat treating, non-destructive testing, shot peening, and finishing steps happen in one Houston facility under a single ISO 9001:2015 quality management system, with no outsourcing. Products are analyzed before and during production against the customer specification. On a first titanium spring, that continuity keeps a prototype iteration inside one short internal loop instead of a round trip through three suppliers.