Material Characteristics

It's down to the wire!

Use our wire's unique properties to your advantage. When designing for your project, Ultimate R&D engineers take into account considerations such as desired forces, material, and transformation temperature. Let Ultimate R&D help you to bring your concept to reality.

Forces are key!
Material comparison: Ultimate's Nickel Titanium, stainless steel, and wires.
Typical NiTi force ranges vs. 'I' (2nd Moment of Inertia).
NiTi transformation temperature ranges.

Ultimate R&D can support your wire and spring projects in Nickel Titanium, Beta III Titanium, and stainless steel wire. See how these compare.

Forces are key!

Bend Force Determination

Within a temperature controlled environment, three-point bend tests are performed to determine loading and unloading forces of wire at prescribed intervals. The resulting graph reflects these forces for the particular wire.

Representative 3-Point Bend Test Graph

Representative 3-Point Bend Test graph of loading and unloading forces for a
Nickel Titanium wire. The upper line being the loading forces and the lower line
representing the unloading forces. The near horizontal unloading force line is
indicative of the low, consistent forces produced by NiTi wires during use.

Material Comparison

Ultimate R&D engineers focus on the development of products made from Nickel Titanium, as well as our proprietary wire. We are also well versed in the manufacturing of stainless steel products. Here are the basic characteristics of these materials for your comparison.

Nickel Titanium Wire

NiTi is composed of approximately 55% Ni and 45 % Ti.

Exhibits 'Superelastic' behavior above A_f.
This unique characteristic of Nickel Titanium allows it to
accept substantial bends without taking a permanent set,
while producing near constant unloading forces.

In addition, Nickel Titanium wire may also demonstrate a
heat-activated Shape Memory effect produced through
a tightly controlled manufacturing process.

We can help you to utilize Nickel Titanium wire's unique properties to your advantage.

Wire

Our custom, nickel-free Beta III Titanium wire, wire is composed of 79% Ti, 11% Mo, 6% Zr, and 4% Sn.

Nickel-free! Eliminates treatment concern of Nickel sensitivity
in medical environments.

Stiffness is significantly lower than Stainless Steel and higher
than NiTi.

Excellent formability allows easy fabrication of loops and
bends.

Better resiliency than Stainless Steel.

Approximately half the unloading force of Stainless Steel.

Stainless Steel Wire

Medical grade 300 Series Stainless Steel wire.

Superior surface finish.

Highest forces and stiffness.

Significant ductility.

Poor resiliency.

The following graph provides a quick reference of relative forces and permanent
deformation in 3-point bending for these three wire types.

3 Point Bend Material Comparison

Ultimate R&D can help you to select the right material for your project.

Force and Transformation Temperature Ranges

Typical 3-Point Bend force ranges vs. 'I' (2nd Moment of Inertia) of our NiTi wires.

Wire Size vs. 2nd Moment of Inertia: NiTi

Ultimate R&D's tightly controlled manufacturing processes allow for a range of
available forces with Nickel Titanium wire. The forces shown above are
representative of those common to products developed by Ultimate R&D's engineers.
Our typical wire sizes range from .006 to .070 in. diameter,
along with a variety of square/rectangular shapes.
Other forces can be obtained with other wire sizes and processes.

NiTi transformation temperature ranges.

Ultimate R&D typically works with wire with transformation temperatures (functional A_f) in the range from -18°C (0°F) to 121°C (250°F). Call us to discuss your needs, as custom transformation temperatures can be obtained.

Rely on Ultimate R&D's engineering team to determine
the right material for your project.

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