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Unlike off-the-shelf flat plates, these components are tailored to fit specific form factors, combine multiple functions (e.g., filtration + heat exchange), or address challenging environmental conditions (e.g., high temperature, chemical exposure). A common example is Toptitech's special-shaped porous titanium plates, which feature a 40% porosity structure (void space within the material) with 0.10-40 μm filtration precision—this dual functionality (mechanical support + particle filtration) makes them ideal for both optical systems (beam cleanup) and industrial processes (fluid purification). The manufacturing process is highly controlled, involving powder classification (titanium powder sorted by particle size to ±1 μm), mold pressing (to create complex shapes like hexagons or crescents), sintering (heating to 1200°C in vacuum to bond particles), and precision machining (CNC milling to achieve ±0.05 mm dimensional tolerance)—ensuring that each plate meets exact system requirements .
Uniform Porous Structure for Consistent Performance: The porous titanium structure is engineered with a narrow pore size distribution (±5% of nominal size, e.g., 10 μm pores ±0.5 μm), ensuring consistent separation efficiency (filters >99% of particles larger than the pore size) and flow characteristics (pressure drop variation <10% across the plate). This uniformity is critical for optical applications like laser beam cleanup, where uneven pore size would cause inconsistent light scattering (scatter loss variation <2% across the plate) .
High Temperature and Chemical Resistance: Titanium versions operate reliably below 300°C (titanium’s beta-transus temperature, where its crystal structure changes), maintaining mechanical strength (tensile strength >400 MPa at 300°C) and filtration efficiency. Chemically, they resist corrosion from acids (e.g., 5% hydrochloric acid, 10% sulfuric acid), alkalis (e.g., 10% sodium hydroxide), and organic solvents (e.g., ethanol, acetone)—meeting pharmaceutical GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) requirements for use in drug production and medical devices .
Mechanical Durability for Rigorous Operations: The sintered titanium structure has high compressive strength (>600 MPa) and wear resistance (volume loss <0.1 mm³ after 1000 cycles of abrasion testing), making it suitable for press-filtration (operating pressures up to 10 bar) or suction-filtration (vacuum down to 0.1 mbar) operations. Unlike fragile ceramic filters, these plates can withstand minor impacts (drop from 1 m onto concrete without cracking) and repeated handling during maintenance .
Regenerable Design for Long Service Life: Unlike disposable filters, special shaped porous titanium plates can be cleaned and regenerated online (without removal from the system), extending service life to 2-5 years (vs. 6-12 months for disposable filters). Regeneration methods include ultrasonic cleaning (40 kHz, 30 minutes in distilled water to remove particulate buildup), chemical cleaning (5% nitric acid solution to dissolve organic contaminants), or thermal cleaning (heating to 400°C in air to oxidize residues)—restoring filtration efficiency to >95% of original performance .
Customizable Geometries and Functional Additions: Geometries are fully customizable to fit system enclosures, including rectangles (20×50 mm to 200×300 mm), hexagons (10 mm to 100 mm side length), crescents (radius 5-50 mm), and irregular shapes (matching 3D-printed enclosures). Functional additions include integrated mounting tabs (for easy installation), O-ring grooves (for sealing, 2-5 mm width), and threaded holes (M3-M10 for fastening). For optical applications, surfaces can be polished to 20-10 scratch-dig quality to reduce light scattering .
Optical Filtration and Beam Cleanup: Used in high-power laser systems (e.g., 1 kW fiber lasers for metal cutting) to remove particulate contaminants (e.g., metal dust, oil droplets) from the optical path. The porous titanium plate acts as a in-line filter: the laser beam passes through the pores (which are larger than the beam wavelength, avoiding diffraction), while particles >0.5 μm are trapped. This prevents lens damage (from particle-induced scratching) and maintains beam quality (M⊃2; <1.1 vs. M⊃2; >1.5 with unfiltered beams) .
Heat Exchange in High-Power Laser Diodes: Facilitate thermal management in laser diode arrays (e.g., 100 W NIR diode stacks) by combining heat dissipation with structural support. The porous titanium plate’s high thermal conductivity (21 W/m·K) and large surface area (due to porosity) enable efficient heat transfer—coolant (e.g., deionized water) flows through the pores, absorbing heat and keeping the diodes at <50°C (critical for maintaining diode lifetime >10,000 hours). This integrated design reduces system size by 30% compared to separate heat sinks and filters .
Gas Distribution in Laser Ablation Systems: Provide uniform gas flow in laser ablation (used for thin-film deposition or material analysis) to ensure consistent plasma formation. A special shaped porous plate with a circular geometry and 10 μm pores is mounted above the ablation target— inert gas (e.g., argon) flows through the pores, creating a uniform gas blanket that prevents oxidation of the ablated material. This results in thin films with <5% thickness variation (vs. 15% with non-uniform gas flow) .
Pharmaceutical Processing and Sterile Filtration: Meet hygiene requirements for optical monitoring of drug manufacturing (e.g., sterile injectable production). A porous titanium plate with 0.2 μm pores filters the drug solution to remove bacteria (>99.99% retention), while its smooth, electropolished surface (Ra <0.1 μm) prevents bacterial adhesion (meeting FDA requirements for sterile processing). The plate’s custom shape (matching the processing chamber) ensures easy integration into existing production lines .
Flame Extinguishing and Laser Safety: Integrate into laser safety systems for controlled energy dissipation in case of beam misalignment (e.g., in industrial laser cutting machines). A special shaped plate with a honeycomb porous structure (50 μm pores) is mounted as a "beam dump": if the laser beam misaligns, it hits the plate— the porous structure absorbs the beam energy (up to 100 W CW) and dissipates heat via convection, preventing fire or material damage. The plate’s shape (e.g., curved to match the machine’s interior) ensures it does not block normal operation .
Porous titanium plates have a maximum differential pressure rating of 10 bar (145 psi) at room temperature (25°C) for filtration applications. This rating decreases slightly with temperature due to reduced material strength: at 100°C, it drops to 9 bar; at 200°C, to 8 bar; and at 300°C (maximum operating temperature), to 7 bar. For applications requiring higher pressure (e.g., 15 bar), plates can be reinforced with a solid titanium frame (increasing pressure rating by 50%) or manufactured from a higher-strength titanium alloy (e.g., Ti-6Al-4V, pressure rating 15 bar at 25°C) .
Cleaning and regeneration depend on the contaminant type:
Particulate Contaminants (e.g., dust, metal chips): Use ultrasonic cleaning (40 kHz frequency, 30-60 minutes) with distilled water or a mild detergent (e.g., 1% non-ionic surfactant). Rinse thoroughly with distilled water to remove detergent residue.
Organic Contaminants (e.g., oil, polymers): Soak the plate in a 5% nitric acid solution (or 10% isopropyl alcohol) for 1-2 hours, then rinse with distilled water and dry with compressed air (5 bar pressure, oil-free).
Inorganic Contaminants (e.g., salts, oxides): Use a 2% hydrochloric acid solution for 30 minutes, followed by neutralization with a 1% sodium bicarbonate solution and rinsing.
Maintenance frequency depends on usage: in laser systems, clean every 3-6 months; in pharmaceutical processing, clean after every batch (to maintain sterility); in industrial filtration, clean when pressure drop increases by 50% (typically every 1-2 months) .
