High strength welds in titanium & nickel based alloys by impact welding – A practical method

•Direct solid-state joining of Ni-based superalloys (718, 625, 230) and Ti 6242.•Welded 6 dissimilar and 4 similar pairs via Vaporizing Foil Actuator (VFA) method.•Dissimilar Ni-Ni and Ni-Ti joints were stronger than similar joints in many cases.•Benchmarked dissimilar joint strength using lap shear and peel mechanical tests.•Characterized weld and peel surfaces with electron microscopy and spectroscopy.