Titanium Alloy Development Trend Analysis
1. Titanium alloy is being introduced faster in 3C electronic brands + product types, boosting market demand.
Compared with previous stainless steel and aluminum alloy materials, titanium alloy can better combine the characteristics of being strong and thin, thereby reducing the thickness and weight of mobile phones and improving strength. Titanium alloy has begun to be used on a large scale in mobile phones. In the future, if titanium alloy materials are further penetrated into various 3C consumer electronics brands (Apple, Honor, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, VIVO, OPPO, etc.) and product types (mobile phones - watches - Pads - laptops), the growth space is expected to continue to open up.
Titanium alloy can solve the problem of the thickness of folding screens, and the market demand is expected to increase. As a "collection" of smartphones and tablets, folding screen mobile phones have expanded the use scenarios of users' large-screen displays and stimulated users' demand for changing phones. But the core problem is that although the screen is larger, the folding screen is heavier and thicker than the traditional straight-plate mobile phone, which makes it inconvenient to carry, and consumer acceptance is still limited.
In July 2023, Honor released the folding screen Magic V2: using aerospace titanium alloy 3D printing technology. The thinnest folded thickness is 9.90mm and the thinnest unfolded thickness is 4.7mm, which has brought folding screen mobile phones into the millimeter era. In October 2023, Honor released the folding screen Magic Vs2 again (and reduced the price to 6999 yuan), which further opened up the application of titanium alloy in the 3C industry.
2. With the increase in the permeability of titanium alloys, the demand for cemented carbide bars has been boosted.
The initial raw material of solid hard tools is tungsten concentrate, and the domestic supply is rigid; bars are the direct raw materials of solid hard tools. Tungsten is a rare refractory metal and a domestic strategic mineral. my country has included tungsten in the catalog of strategic minerals in the "National Mineral Resources Plan (2016-2020)". At present, my country implements a quota system for tungsten mining.
In 2023, my country's tungsten concentrate mining target is 111,000 tons (standard tons), an increase of nearly 20,000 tons compared with the target in 2015, with a compound growth rate of 1.9% in the past three years, and relatively rigid supply. The downstream industry chain of tungsten concentrate is mainly for the production of cemented carbide, and the downstream of cemented carbide is mainly for the production of cutting tools, including two categories of solid hard cutting tools and CNC blades. Among them, solid hard cutting tools use cemented carbide bars as direct raw materials.
Against the background of increased titanium alloy permeability, the demand for cemented carbide bars has been boosted. In the past two years, my country's cemented carbide bar production has remained high. According to statistics from 30 major companies by the China Tungsten Industry Association, my country's bar production in 2022 will be 13,500 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.6%, and the five-year compound growth rate from 2018 to 2022 will be 4.0%. The increase in the penetration rate of titanium alloy mobile phone frames will directly drive the consumption of solid hard cutting tools, thereby boosting the demand for cemented carbide bars. The domestic bar market has a high degree of concentration. According to the company's announcement, the two leading companies, China Tungsten High-Tech and Xiamen Tungsten, have a combined market share of more than 40%.
3.Titanium alloys are difficult to process, and the tool market is expected to benefit simultaneously
Titanium alloys are difficult to process, and require high requirements for cutting tools. The traditional cutting method is no longer suitable for the manufacturing process of titanium alloy parts. Specifically, the processing efficiency is low; the tool wear is serious; the processing accuracy and surface quality are not high, and a large number of subsequent grinding and polishing processes are required for processing, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. According to Aibang Polymer data, the overall yield rate of titanium alloy mobile phone middle frames is about 30%-40%, which is much lower than the 80% of aluminum alloy middle frames; and the processing time is long, about 3-4 times that of aluminum alloys; at the same time, due to the special properties of titanium alloys, strict requirements are also placed on cutting tools.
Most titanium alloy parts on aircraft are thin-walled frame parts, and most of them use milling to remove a large amount of titanium alloy materials. Titanium alloy is a typical difficult-to-process material, so the material removal rate is very low.
High-speed steel or carbide tools are usually used to cut titanium alloys in aerospace. Generally speaking, when the cutting speed of high-speed steel tools exceeds 30m/min and the cutting speed of carbide tools exceeds 60m/min, the tool wear accelerates and the cutting process becomes difficult. The high-speed cutting range of titanium alloys is generally above 100m/min, and the level of milling titanium alloys abroad is in the range of 100m/min-200m/min, so high-strength processing tools are required.
Carbide, super-hard cutting tools, and ceramic cutting tools are expected to benefit. Diamond PCD cutting tools' contour cutting tools, chamfering cutting tools, and milling cutters are well-suited for the processing of titanium alloy product shells. The products can be formed in one step, which improves processing efficiency and final yield, while ensuring the surface finish of the products. In 2022, Apple's high-end smartwatch titanium case production has begun to use super-hard cutting tools from a domestic brand. At the same time, more smartphone brands have also begun to use titanium alloy materials in large quantities. Coupled with the recovery of consumer electronics, super-hard cutting tools are beneficial to the future business expansion of consumer electronics. Ceramic cutting tools have comprehensive properties such as high hardness, good wear resistance, and good thermal conductivity. They are mainly used in the processing of materials such as stainless steel and titanium alloys.
4.Titanium alloys are used in high-end mobile phones, and 3D printing is expected to usher in new opportunities.
Titanium alloys are a high-performance, high-strength, low-density metal material with high corrosion resistance, wear resistance and oxidation resistance, making mobile phones more high-end and durable in appearance. In addition, titanium alloys also have good thermal conductivity, which helps to improve the heat dissipation effect of mobile phones, thereby ensuring the stability of mobile phones during long-term use, so as to improve the grade and quality of products, thereby attracting more consumers' attention and purchases.
Currently, Apple and Xiaomi have introduced titanium alloy/titanium metal middle frames in high-end mobile phones. Other major manufacturers may also follow suit and adopt titanium alloy parts. In the future, as titanium alloys gradually scale up, yields increase, and costs decrease, they are expected to be popularized in mid- and low-end products. Smartphone titanium alloy parts will be one of the trends in the industry. According to estimates, the market space for 3D printed titanium alloy middle frames and shaft covers is expected to exceed 45 billion yuan in 2027, and the 3D printing market will usher in a broad space for growth.
5.The process of domestic substitution of titanium materials is accelerating, and the performance of domestic enterprises is expected to grow.
As the manufacturing capacity of domestic titanium production enterprises is improved, the process of domestic substitution of titanium materials is accelerating. Western Superconducting Materials Technology Co., Ltd. has successfully mastered the batch preparation technology of Ti45Nb alloy wire for fasteners, solving the problem of forging and blanking of large-size ingots of Ti40 flame-retardant titanium alloy; Hunan Xiangtou Jintian Titanium Metal Co., Ltd. independently developed China's first large-scale heavy and wide titanium strip coil, filling the domestic gap and changing the pattern of my country's titanium coils and titanium welded pipes relying on imports. Domestic leading enterprises have developed high-performance and low-cost preparation technologies for a variety of titanium materials, achieving coverage of a variety of titanium materials. Domestic substitution of materials will promote the performance growth of domestic titanium production enterprises.
