Alloy Reports

U.S. 1 (973) 276-5000 • 1 (800) 600-9290 • Canada 1 (416) 363-2244

Fax: 1 (973) 276-5050 • Sales@Steelforge.com

At All Metals & Forge Group, we take pride in providing our customers with a wide range of products and services. Below you’ll find detailed reports on some of our most popular alloys. If you would like us to send you our complete list of reports for the over 300 alloys we offer, use the form below to let us know where to send your alloy reports.

As always, if you have any questions please contact us in the U.S. at 1 (973) 276-5000 or toll-free at 1 (800) 600-9290. In Canada at 1 (416) 363-2244. Fax us at 1 (973) 276-5050 or email us at sales@steelforge.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

INCONEL 625 

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INCONEL 625 ALLOY

Inconel 625 is a corrosion and oxidation-resistant nickel-base alloy. It has outstanding strength and toughness in the temperature range cryogenic to 2000ºF Inconel 625(1090ºC) thanks to the solid solution effects of columbium and molybdenum in a nickel-chromium matrix. Excellent fatigue strength, and stress-corrosion cracking resistance in chloride ions, are further properties of the alloy.

APPLICATIONS
Inconel 625 alloy is used for heat shields, furnace hardware, gas turbine engine ducting, combustion liners and spray bars, chemical plant hardware, and special seawater applications.

FORGING
A maximum furnace temperature of 2100ºF (1150ºC) is recommended for heating this alloy for forging, and care should be taken to avoid overheating. The alloy becomes very stiff below 1850ºF (1010ºC) and parts should be reheated if their temperature falls below this lower limit. Uniform reductions will prevent the formation of a duplex grain structure.

HEAT TREATMENT
There are three basic treatments for Inconel 625:

High solution anneal, a treatment at 2000/2200ºF (1095/1205ºC) for a time depending upon section size, but soaking for a maximum of one hour, and cooling in air or a faster medium. This treatment is used for applications involving service at a minimum temperature of 1500ºF (815ºC) and where creep resistance is required. Low solution anneal a treatment at 1700/1900ºF (925/1040ºC) for a soak time of one-hour maximum, and cooling in air or a faster medium. The treatment develops an optimum combination of tensile and rupture properties from ambient temperatures to 1900ºF (1040ºC), together with very good ductility and toughness at cryogenic temperatures.

Stress relief, a treatment at 1650ºF (900ºC) for a one to four-hour soak time – depending upon section size – and air cooling. This treatment is used for applications below 1200ºF (650ºC) when maximum fatigue and strength properties are desired. Cryogenic ductility and toughness are also excellent.

MACHINABILITY
Recommendations for the best machining of this alloy are low cutting speeds, heavy equipment rigid tooling, and positive feeds.

WELDABILITY
Inconel 625 may be welded using gas-shielded processes, using either a tungsten or a consumable electrode. Post-weld treatments are not necessary to maintain corrosion resistance.

Alloy Reports

Let us know where to send your complete Alloy Report including chemical analysis, machinability,  weldability, heat treatment, and more.

4140 ALLOY STEEL 

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF 4140 ALLOY STEEL

AISI or SAE 4130 grade is a low-alloy steel containing chromium and molybdenum as strengthening agents. 4140 alloy steel Its chemical composition is as follows

AISI/SAE 4140 grade is a versatile alloy with good atmospheric corrosion resistance and reasonable strength. It shows good overall combinations of strength, toughness, wear resistance, and fatigue strength.

APPLICATIONS
This alloy finds many applications as forgings for the aerospace and oil and gas industries, along with myriad uses in the automotive, agricultural, and defense industries, Typical uses are forged gears and shafts, spindles, fixtures, jigs, and collars.

FORGING
The forging of this steel should be carried out between 2200 and 1650 º F (1200 and 900 º C). The lower the finishing temperature from forging, the finer will be the grain size. This alloy should ideally not be forged below 1650 º F (900 º C) and should be slowly cooled after forging.

HEAT TREATMENT
Heat treatment is carried out after hot working to render the steel suitable for machining, and to meet the mechanical property ranges specified for the steel’s particular applications.

ANNEALING
Forgings of 4140 grade may be annealed by transferring the parts straight from the forging operation to a furnace held at a suitable temperature, between 1450 and 1550 º F (790 and 840 º C), holding for a suitable time then furnace cooling, forming a structure suitable for machining. This kind of treatment is best used for parts with simple shapes. If some areas of a forging will finish much colder than others then a uniform structure will not be obtained, in which case a spheroidizing anneal at around 1380 º F (750 º C) may be used. It is safe to say that experience alone will decide the best type of annealing treatment to be used before machining.

NORMALIZING
This process is defined as heating a steel to a temperature above the ferrite-to-austenite transformation range and then cooling in air to a temperature well below this transformation range. This treatment may be carried out on forged products as a conditioning treatment before the final heat treatment. Normalizing also serves to refine the structure of forgings that might have cooled non-uniformly from their forging operation. The nominal normalizing temperature for 4140 grade is 1600 º F (870 º C), but production experience may necessitate a temperature either 50 º F (10 º C) above or below this figure. In fact, when forgings are normalized before, say, carburizing or hardening and tempering, the upper range of normalizing temperatures is used. When normalizing is the final heat treatment, the lower temperature range is used.

HARDENING
This heat treatment results in the formation of martensite after quenching, hence a great increase in hardness and tensile strength together with some loss of ductility. The steel should be austenitized at 1500 to 1550 º F (815 to 845 º C), the actual temperature being a function of chemical composition within the allowed range, section size, and cooling method. Austenitizing should ensure all micro-constituents in the steel are transformed into austenite. Smaller sections of 4140 might be quenched in oil, heavier sections in water.

Tempering is carried out to relieve stresses from the hardening process, but primarily to obtain the required mechanical properties. The actual tempering temperature will be chosen to meet the required properties, and in many cases will be a matter of trial and error.

MACHINABILITY
The alloy is readily machinable. Simple shapes might be machined following a normalizing treatment, whereas more complex shapes will require annealing. At the carbon level of this grade, a structure of coarse lamellar pearlite to coarse spheroidite is normally optimum for machinability

WELDABILITY
This grade has good weldability and may be welded using any commercial method. Parts should be preheated before welding at around 1100 º F (590 º C) and stress relieved after. Parts in the hardened and tempered condition should not be welded since mechanical properties will be adversely affected. Parts should be welded in the annealed condition only.

COLD FORMABILITY
Any cold forming on this alloy should be carried out on material with a spheroidized structure. Further heat treatment, hardening, and tempering are carried out where applicable on the finally formed part.

ALUMINUM 6061

PRINCIPAL DESIGN FEATURES
Probably the most commonly available, heat-treatable aluminum alloy.

APPLICATIONS
Commonly used in the manufacture of heavy-duty structures requiring good corrosion resistance, truck and marine components, railroad cars, furniture, tank fittings, general structural and high-pressure applications, wire products, and pipelines.

MACHINABILITY
The machinability in the harder T4 and T6 tempers is good. It is notably less easy to machine in the annealed temper.

FORMING
Easily cold worked and formed in the annealed condition. Stamping, bending, spinning, and deep drawing are all readily accomplished using standard methods.

WELDING
The alloy has very good welding characteristics and may be welded by all of the common welding techniques. Gas tungsten arc welding is generally used for thin sections (less than 0.032″) and gas metal arc welding is used for heavier sections. Use alloy 4043 filler wire for best results, although a decrease in T 6 properties will result.

HEAT TREATMENT
Solution heat treated at 990 F for adequate time to allow for thorough heating and then water quench. Precipitation hardening is done at 320 F for 18 hours and air cooling, followed by 350 F for 8 hours and air cooling.

FORGING
The alloy is capable of being hot forged at temperatures in the range of 900 F to 750 F.

HOT WORKING
Hot working may be done in the temperature range of 700 F to 500 F.

COLD WORKING
Cold working in the O-temper condition is readily performed. The alloy is notably less easy to cold form in the T 4 and T 6 tempers.

ANNEALING
Annealing should be done at 775 F for 2 to 3 hours followed by controlled cooling at 50 f per hour down to 500 F, then air cooling.

AGING
The aging precipitation heat treatment is done at 350 F for 8 hours followed by air cooling. This produces the T6 temper.

TEMPERING
Not applicable.

HARDENING
See “Aging”.

OTHER PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Electrical conductivity 40% of copper.

OTHER MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Shear strength for O temper is 12 ksi and for T6 temper it is 30, ksi
Density: 0.098
Specific Gravity: 2.7
Melting Point: 1090
MoETensile: 10
MoETorsion: 3.8

STAINLESS 17-4PH

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PH GRADES 17-4PH
17 – 4 PH steel is a martensitic precipitation age hardening stainless steel that combines high strength and hardness with excellent corrosion resistance. stainless steel 17-4phIt may be age-hardened by a single-step low- low-temperature treatment

APPLICATIONS
This grade of steel is used for a variety of applications including oil field valve parts, chemical process equipment, forged aircraft fittings, fasteners and pump shafts, gears, nuclear reactor parts, and jet engine parts.

FORGING
Forging of this grade should be carried out between 2150/2200ºF (1180/1200ºC) and 1850ºF (1010ºC.) For optimum grain size and mechanical properties, forgings should be air-cooled to below 90ºF (32ºC) before further processing. Forgings must be solution-treated before hardening.

HEAT TREATMENT
Type 17 – 4 PH alloy is hardened by heating solution-treated material, condition A, to between 900/ºF (480ºC) and 1150ºF (620ºC) for one to four hours, depending upon the temperature, then air cooling.

SOLUTION TREATMENT
Heat at 1900ºF (1040ºC) for 30 minutes and cool to below 90ºF (32ºC) to allow complete transformation to martensite. Sections less than 3” may be quenched in a suitable liquid while those sections over 3” should be rapidly air-cooled. Parts should not be used in the solution–treated condition due to possible problems with stress corrosion cracking.

AGE HARDENING
For condition H900 heat solution-treated material at 900ºF (480ºC) for 1 hour and air cool. For conditions H925, H1025, H1075, H1100, H1150: heat solution-treated material at appropriate temperature ± 15ºF (± 8ºC) for 4 hours and air cool.

MACHINABILITY
17 – 4 PH grade is readily machinable in both the solution-treated and various age-hardened conditions. In the solution-treated condition, it machines in a similar way to stainless 304. The machinability improves as the hardening temperature increases.

WELDABILITY
17 – 4 PH grade can be satisfactorily welded by the shielded fusion and resistance welding processes.

Oxyacetylene welding is not recommended since carbon pick-up may occur in the weld. If a filler metal is required a 17-4PH type welding rod should be used to provide welds with base-metal properties. If high strength is not required an austenitic stainless filler metal is satisfactory.

Welding in the solution-treated condition is normally satisfactory, but if high welding stresses are a possibility it may be best to weld in the overaged (H1150) condition.

If welded in the solution-treated condition, 17-4PH alloy may be aged to the desired strength level after welding, but the optimum strength-ductility-corrosion resistance combination is obtained by solution-treating the welded part before aging. Welding in the overaged condition must be followed by solution treatment and then aging.

CARBON STEEL 1020

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LOW-CARBON STEEL 1020

C1020 is a general-purpose carbon steel that may be hardened by carburizing or by other surface treatments. carbon steel 1020

APPLICATIONS
This grade of steel is used for forged motor shafts, hydraulic shafts, and pump shafts, as well as machinery parts.

FORGING
C1020 is forged from around 2300ºF (1260ºC) down to a temperature in the region of 1650ºF (900ºC.) The actual forging and finishing temperatures will depend on several factors, including overall reduction during forging and the complexity of the part being forged.

Experience alone will determine near-exact values for these two parameters.
Parts are air-cooled after forging.

HEAT TREATMENT
A significant amount of this grade of steel is used in the as-forged condition since it shows good machinability in this condition. Little is to be gained, at this carbon level, by a quenching treatment. At this carbon level, annealing after forging may not be necessary, and depending upon the hardness after forging and the complexity of the part being forged, machining may be carried out on the as-forged parts. If parts are of complex shape and hence there are structural variations throughout the part, then normalizing is in order.

NORMALIZING
Normalizing is seldom carried out on carbon contents at this level, but may be used before surface hardening. The normalizing temperature range for this grade is typically 1650-1700ºF (900-930ºC.) followed by air cooling. When forgings are normalized before, say, carburizing, the upper range of the normalizing temperature is used. When normalizing is the final treatment, the lower temperature range is used.

HARDENING
This grade of steel is not normally subjected to hardening and tempering treatments as the hardness obtained from such treatments would not warrant their being performed. Carburizing might be carried out at 1620-1690ºF (880-920ºC,) and carbonitriding at 1470-1600ºF (800-875ºC.)

Hardening of the carburized case would be performed at 1430-1500ºF (780-820ºC) followed by a water quench and a tempering treatment at 300-400ºF (150-200ºC) to improve case toughness with a minimum effect on its hardness. Case hardness values of Rc 60 may be obtained on carburized C1020.

MACHINABILITY
For parts with a diameter less than 2” (50mm) this grade has been found on occasion to show best machinability when normalized. Parts over 2” (50mm) diameter might be machined following forging or rolling.

WELDABILITY
This grade of steel may be welded by all normal methods: low-carbon electrodes are recommended.

Fast Quotes And Delivery

Save time and money on your next project.

In the U.S. 1 (973) 276-5000 / 1 (800) 600-9290.

In Canada 1 (416) 363-2244.

Email us at sales@steelforge.com.

Contact us with questions or your RFQ.