Difference between revisions of "Materials"

Most flashlights that are made out of "Aircraft Grade Aluminum" are typically made of 6061-T6 alloy. This alloy is strong, hard, cheap, anodizable and weldable.

Some flashlights are available in titanium alloy. These are usually the higher-end custom lights, but some production lights are now produced in Ti. Titanium can be polished to a very shiny finish; bead blasted, or anodized/heat treated for a variety of colors.  Ti is more resistant to corrosion than stainless steel and weighs 40% less.

Although Ti is heavier than aluminum, it is much stronger. Titanium is more expensive and harder to machine than Aluminum. Like stainless, it does not conduct heat as well as aluminum, and this fact must be addressed when engineering high-powered flashlights. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium Wikipedia] for more information on titanium.

'''Tensile Strength''' - Megapascals, millions of Newtons (a force) per square meter to cause the metal to yield (or permanently deform).

'''Thermal Conductivity''' - Watts per meter of thickness per degree Kelvin. The amount of heat (in watts) that moves through some thickness of material (in meters) given some difference in temperature between the hot side and cools side (in Kelvins).