September 27, 2006 – DuPont and Honeywell Electronic Materials says they have used their metals creation knowledge for semiconductors to create a new process for making high-purity titanium metal powder, with “virtually the same strength and weight characteristics” as solid titanium but resulting in less machining and waste.

Currently manufactures cut parts from solid blocks of titanium alloy, with a great deal of scrap — aerospace firms typically buy 8x more titanium than will be in finished products, or ~13% efficiency. The new titanium powder form, however, can be converted with nearly 90%, the companies say.

Commercial quantities of the titanium powder are expected to be available next month, for applications ranging from chemical processing to automotive to military use, and sporting goods.