Bay group aims to lead the world in titanium products

A NEW million-dollar industry based on titanium alloy powder is under way in Western Bay of Plenty.
The Titanium Industry Development Association (TiDA) has set up shop in the new engineering block at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic's Windermere campus.
The two-level premises, covering 600sq m and full of sophisticated testing equipment, will be opened by the Minister of Research Science and Technology, Wayne Mapp, on Friday, July 2.
TiDA, armed with up-to-date scientific data, is now liaising with various New Zealand companies to develop ground-breaking titanium alloy products for the international marketplace.
The development springs from the work of Tauranga-based company, Titanox, which is producing and supplying high-grade titanium alloy powder.
"They say the world is entering the titanium age and New Zealand's future is to be at the leading edge," said Warwick Downing, TiDA chief executive.
"We have to use materials like titanium efficiently, effectively and with a wide range of imagination."
Titanium, although expensive, is sought after as it has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal.
It is lightweight, corrosion resistant and non-toxic, and is used for components in the aerospace, medical and automotive industries.
Titanium is also in demand for the latest laptops, mobile phones, cameras, sports gear and other gadgets.
Titanium alloy powder has even more strength and can withstand higher temperatures.
 Titanox found a way to remove oxygen from titanium and other metal oxides in one process, and its powder - more affordable in price - is regarded as some of the best in the world.
TiDA has made contact with 106 people representing 80 organisations including the Boeing Company, Rolls-Royce, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Loughborough University in England, and Swinburne University of Techynology in Melbourne.
But first it is working with local companies to develop new products.
They include Katikati dental solutions company Triodent Innovations, Tauranga's Oasis Engineering, Metal Tech Engineering in Hamilton, orthopaedic device firm Enz Tech in Christchurch and South Auckland Forgings Engineering.
 Page and Macrae - a strong driving force behind Titanox - is close to opening a coatings facility for titanium alloy powder.
Those companies are investigating products ranging from dental tools and medical implants to industrial and automative parts such as filters and valves.
"Our goal is to turn around industry development projects as fast as possible - not in research time of [at least] three years but in real industry time," said Mr Downing.
"The companies can bring their [alloy] materials to us for testing, and we will complete this in three days."
TiDA has been set up with backing from the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Foundation for Research Science and Technology and the Tertiary Education Commission, receiving $1.8 million in grants over three years.
Mr Downing has been seconded from NZTE and TiDA has a full-time materials and process engineer Dr Aamir Mukhtar, as well contracting Dr Steven Matthews from Massey University - a powder metallurgy expert - on a part-time basis.
TiDA has just completed installing $2 million worth of the latest laboratory testing equipment. It includes machines and imaging systems to check the hardness, density and chemical composition of the materials.
There's a 2.7 metre high Instron tensile stretch/strength machine from the United States - the tallest one installed in New Zealand.
The machine has two jaws which can pull, bend and flex the material to test its strength and compare it with existing products.
TiDA's pièce de résistance is the German-designed Zeiss electron microscope which can magnify a sample up to one million times, giving a real insight into how the titanium alloy powder has formed.
Mr Downing said the microscope had the biggest chamber seen in New Zealand, and it had to be installed on a thick floor to eliminate any possible vibration.
"This is industrial scale, not just a science project," he said. "We are here to add more value to high-tech manufacturing."
TiDA is also working with Bay of Plenty Polytechnic - already training engineering apprentices - to establish a two-year diploma course specialising in powder metallurgy.
The diploma graduates could then carry on and complete a Bachelor of Engineering through Waikato University. The students would utilise the TiDA and polytechnic facilities.
"They can go from an apprentice to PhD by studying in the same location, "Mr Downing said.
 "There's only one other place in the world that does that - Swinburne University."