Titanium is a metallic element that can be alloyed with other elements, such as vanadium, aluminum or iron, to come up with alloys that are durable and strong enough for industrial, aerospace, chemical, and other applications.
There are a number of steps involved in the fabrication of titanium to make titanium anode baskets.
First, titanium ore is reduced to a porous form, or sponge. Then, the sponge is melted to create an ingot. An ingot then undergoes primary fabrication where it is made into general finished products like bars, plates, sheets, tubes, strips, billets, pipes, and anodes. The final step is the fabrication of these finished products into customized shapes and sizes.
Titanium anode baskets were first developed about five decades ago. They were used to improve the quality and electrical conductivity of materials. Up to this day, they are utilized for the same reasons and more. They have the following attributes:
- High anode efficiency
- Solid side channels
- Durability
- Reinforcement straps and standard hooks
- Constant current distribution
- Non-corrosive
- High strength
- Lightweight
- Uniform anode area
- Less voltage loss
- Less plating bath contamination
Commercially, they are commonly available as:
Rectangular titanium anode baskets
- 99.6% commercially pure titanium grade 2
- 5” thickness
- 6” width
- Length ranges from 12” to 60”
Cylindrical titanium anode baskets
- 99.6% commercially pure titanium grade 2
- Diameter ranges from 2.5” to 5”
- Length ranges from 12” to 60”
- With 6”-long hooks
Some titanium manufacturers specialize in custom-designed titanium anode baskets that come in other shapes and sizes.
- Reel to reel plating titanium anode baskets
- Conforming anode baskets
- Spiral titanium anode baskets
- Other special application anode baskets
Titanium anode baskets are frequently used in metal plating, electroplating, or chrome plating in the aircraft, military, medical, and marine applications because of titanium anodes’ constant anode-cathode distance all throughout the anodes’ lifetime, unlike other anodes that experience increase in inter-electrode gap over time.