Your grinding, sanding, deburring or polishing station throws a fine, reactive metal dust when the part is titanium. It is one of the dusts NFPA 660 singles out, and the collector you would put on a steel grinding bench is the wrong place to start. Here is how titanium dust collection is normally set up, what the standard says about it, and what to settle before you buy anything.
Why your titanium dust gets its own rules
Titanium in a solid billet is hard to light. Titanium as fine dust or thin swarf is a different material. The fines have a lot of surface area, a grinding spark can start them, and a titanium fire is a Class D metal fire, which ordinary extinguishers and fire hoses are not made for.
That sounds like a reason to keep water away, and for a fire it is. A wet collector works the other way around. It puts each particle under water as it is captured, so there is no layer of dry dust sitting in a filter waiting for a spark.
What NFPA 660 says about collecting titanium dust
Your starting point is the order of preference in the standard for reactive metals such as aluminum, magnesium, titanium and zirconium.
- Wet collection is the preferred method. It is what we recommend for titanium
- A dry collector located outdoors is the recognized alternative. It carries a full explosion protection package
- A dry collector inside the building is the last option. The standard limits it to cases where wet collection or an outdoor dry collector is not feasible
- Hydrogen has to be managed on a wet metal system. Reactive metals can release hydrogen gas in water, so the collector needs a way to vent it
For how the standard is organized, see NFPA 660 explained. For the side by side on the two approaches, see wet collectors vs dry collectors.
Have your dust tested first. Always have your dust checked for combustibility. Published numbers only screen for a hazard, and particle size and moisture move them. Our KSt values page lists general values for titanium and other metals. For your dust hazard analysis (DHA), go straight to DHA Report Group and request the intake form.
What a titanium wet collector setup looks like
You put a wet collector close to the work, pull the dust through a short duct run, and the collector washes it out of the air with baffles and water. There are no cartridges to change. What you maintain is water level and sludge.
The line we lead with is AT Industrial. Their wet collectors run from 800 to 15,000 CFM across eight models, all in seam welded 304 stainless, with automatic water level control, a stainless sludge rake, and a self-venting drain that lets hydrogen out instead of letting it build up inside. The MicroAir Hydromax is the other line we carry. You can compare both on our wet collectors page.
Installation is contracted directly with an independent ICAP Certified crew or your own contractor.
Five things to get right
1. Give titanium its own collector
We recommend a dedicated collector for titanium. Sharing it with a steel grinding bench brings sparks into the same airstream, and mixing metal dusts changes how the sludge behaves.
2. Capture it at the work
Your hood or downdraft table belongs as close to the wheel or the sander as the operator can work with. Keep the duct short and sized so dust does not settle in it. Our dust collector CFM calculator uses 4,500 FPM for aluminum, magnesium and titanium dust and gives you a rough airflow from your port sizes, for planning only. The full method is in how to size a dust collector.
3. Stay on top of the sludge
Clean the sludge out on a schedule and do not let it dry out in the unit. How you store and dispose of it comes from your DHA and the collector manual. Our guide to dust collector waste disposal covers the questions to ask.
4. Never run it low on water
A wet collector only protects you while the water is at level. Automatic water level control handles that for you, and it is worth checking every shift anyway.
5. Keep the room clean
Whatever escapes the hood settles on ledges, beams and light fixtures. Clean it up by a method your DHA allows, and do not blow it down with compressed air.
If you machine titanium under coolant
Milling and turning titanium under flood coolant makes wet chips and coolant mist, not dry dust. That is a mist collection job, and it is where SmogHog mist collectors fit. The dust problem starts at the dry steps after machining: grinding, sanding, deburring and polishing. Many aerospace shops need both, which is why our aerospace manufacturing page covers them together.
When this is not right for you
- You cut titanium on a plasma or laser table. That is a fume and fine particulate job with its own equipment. See plasma table dust collectors and laser fume extraction
- You handle titanium powder for additive manufacturing. Follow the powder handling system your printer maker specifies. A shop dust collector is not the tool for that
- You only machine wet and never grind dry. You need mist collection, not dust collection
- You have not had your dust tested. Do that first. It decides what you are allowed to install
Frequently asked questions
Is titanium dust combustible?
Fine titanium dust is a combustible metal dust, and NFPA 660 treats it as one. How reactive yours is depends on particle size and what else is in it, so always have your dust checked for combustibility.
What kind of dust collector do you use for titanium?
NFPA 660 treats wet collection as the preferred method for titanium, with a dry collector located outdoors as the recognized alternative. We recommend a wet collector, which captures the dust in water as it comes off the work.
Can I use a cartridge dust collector for titanium?
A dry collector is the last choice for titanium. Outdoors, it carries a full explosion protection package. Indoors, the standard limits it to cases where wet collection or an outdoor dry collector is not feasible.
Does a wet collector for titanium need explosion vents?
Because the dust is captured in water, a wet collector for combustible metal does not carry the explosion vents and isolation valves a protected dry collector needs. It does need hydrogen vented, since reactive metals can release hydrogen in water.
Can I collect titanium and aluminum or steel in the same collector?
We recommend a dedicated collector for titanium. Mixing it with steel grinding sparks or other metal dusts adds ignition sources and changes how the sludge behaves.
How many CFM does titanium dust collection take?
It depends on the hood or downdraft table at each station and how many run at once. Our dust collector CFM calculator gives you a rough number from your port sizes, for planning only.
Keep reading
Grinding titanium and not sure what you need?
Tell us what you grind, how many stations run at once and where the collector can sit. You get a wet collector recommendation sized to your stations.
Book your free system review call