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by DannyBee 738 days ago
1. It will be non-magnetic

2. Easiest, most accessible testing method is scratching it on tile or glass. When scratched against glass (or ceramic tile), steel will probably leave a real scratch, aluminum will do nothing, titanium will leave a pencil-like line.
1 comments
gorbypark 738 days ago
I am guessing that it was real titanium, just a different grade/alloy/treating process being passed off as something it was not or it's possible it's even the same quality/grade, just of unknown provenance (fell off the back of a truck) and its documents were forged. Seems kinda likely as Boeing says (as I understand from the article) they have tested the parts and it's the correct grade of titanium.
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DannyBee 738 days ago
Sure, i answered the literal question.

You are correct that this is what the article says - testing suggests it is in fact titanium, just maybe not the right treatment.

That would be harder, but one would think that a company making airframes for aviation, in a highly regulated environment/etc, would occasionally send off samples to double check them.

Getting titanium analyzed to a degree you could tell whether it is the right grade/alloy is cheap and fast - I can get it done for <$100 per sample.

Given the cost of what they are producing, how few they produce, and how much they sell them for, and how quickly you can get this kind of thing done, they could test every single lot of titanium they get and neither increase cost, nor slow down production.

This also isn't a case where there are lots of people in the middle - this supplier is the ones machining and producing the final product from titanium alloys.

Also, if you change suppliers, wouldn't you at least test the stuff they give you the first time?

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icegreentea2 738 days ago
For all we know, Spirit could have had sufficient testing, and the titanium actually pass all tests. That doesn't preclude fraudulent certificates.
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DannyBee 738 days ago
Except the article says they only tested it after they found corrosion reported back to them (IE they did not discover or test it ahead of time), and that testing they have now done says it is not treated properly.

So it doesn't appear Spirit has sufficient testing, or that the titanium passes all the tests.

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