A materials strength also depends on its formulation and treatment as well as its forming methods. 21. For starters, Inconel is significantly more costly than stainless steel alloys. There are also many different grades of Incoloy available. In 1913, while working in Sheffield, England, Brearley was investigating the addition of chromium to molten steel in order to improve its corrosion resistance. 864.990.0762 hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(223565, '6778e8f0-fcb7-49a5-b088-b128a1eec940', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Looking for a quote or have questions about our wire baskets? Two of the most popular types of metals used for manufacturing nowadays are Inconel and stainless steel. She and her husband enjoy remodeling old houses and are currently working on a 1970s home. Because of these unique properties, Inconel is used in jet engines, oil and gas extractions, saltwater applications, and heat treat applications. If a lower cost, but relatively strong part is required, stainless steel is probably the way to go. If you need a low-cost, high-strength product, stainless steel is usually the way to go. It can be classified into five different groups, as follows: Although both metals may have a similar physical appearance, they are different in many other aspects. One type, Willie Mansion, 302/304, 3rd Floor, 297, Javji Dadaji Marg, Nana Chowk, Grant Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400007, Car Rental WordPress Theme Copyright 2022 - thepipingmart.com, Inconel vs Stainless Steel Whats the Difference, SAE/AISI 1541 Carbon Steel (UNS G15410) Composition, Properties and Uses, Gas Welding Rods for Mild Steel An Overview, SAE/AISI 1541 Carbon Steel (UNS G15410) Co, AISI 304vsAISI 316 Whats the Difference, Sand Casting vs Gravity Die Casting Whats the Difference, Spot Welding vs Resistance Welding Whats the Difference, AISI 304 vs430 Stainless Steel Whats the Difference, Spot Welding vs MIG Welding Whats the Difference, Nickel Plating vs Gold Plating Whats the Difference, AISI 1018 vs 1020 Steel Whats the Difference. 1 Temper provides better heat resistance. Ultimately, when choosing between Inconel vs stainless steel, cost comparison should be based on your application requirements rather than just the material costs alone. They are different materials with different properties. When comparing stainless steel vs Inconel cost, you should consider not just the price of raw material but also the costs associated with fabrication and machining. If you want to know more about rolled rings and forgings for your project, Ferralloy can help. Installed cost ratios are based on a 100 m (400 ft) DN 50 (2") pipe installation. Because it also boasted a high-temperature resistance, it was initially used in aircraft engines. Mild steel vs. stainless steel: cost. Aerospace and automotive engineering industries use Inconel alloys for electrical resistance heating, thermal processing, heat treatment and electronics. Inconel 600 (8.75 + 9.85) Nickel 200 (12.50 + 13.40) Since Inconel is very expensive and hard to machine, it can be much easier to 3D print it. Second, Inconel has a high corrosion resistance due to the passivation layer that forms when heated. If you want to promote your products or services in the Engineering ToolBox - please use Google Adwords. Inconel and Hastelloy are used in a variety of industries to produce custom metal parts that can function in elevated temperatures. This makes it ideal for use in aircraft engines, power plants, chemical processing plants, oil refineries, nuclear reactors, etc. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. If an air-critical component with high-temperature requirements is necessary, Inconel is a far superior alloy. You can measure strength by a materials tensile strength, yield strength, hardness, or compressive strength. To this day, Inconel alloys continue to find many applications across a variety of industries. Inconel is more expensive than stainless steel. are all mostly nickel with some chromium added. The most fundamental of difference between them lies in their composition. This glue prevents the grains from increasing in size when heated to high temperatures (for the most part, smaller grains means a high strength and larger grains lends itself to a higher ductility). Inconel, a product of Special Metals Corp., has a nickel, chromium and molybdenum composition. What type of environment will the part be used This growth is expected to continue as more industries adopt this material for their manufacturing projects. A portion for handling medical supplies, on the other hand, would be more suited to a stainless-steel alloy. However, Inconel alloys are not suitable for use in environments that are highly acidic or alkaline, or in environments where there is a risk of hydrofluoric acid attack. Give us a calland well get it done. At Protolabs, we offer Inconel 718 as an additive material option available to build part volumes up to 31. This alloy is ideal for marine engineering and oil and gas extraction because of corrosion resistance. Stainless steel is a versatile material that can be utilized in a variety of applications and industries, which is one of the main reasons its usage has increased exponentially in recent years. T: 877-412-3651 // Leaf Group, Specialty Steel Industry of North America -- The Stainless Steel Information Center: Chemical and Physical Properties of Stainless Steel. . This makes them an attractive choice for applications in high-temperature environments. It is also costly to polish and finish stainless steel. Stainless steel is an alloy that consists of iron, chromium, and other metals. So, the choice of which of these two metal alloys to use will depend on the specific application theyll be used for. While Inconel tends to be more expensive due to its superior properties, it may still be worth considering if your project requires superior corrosion or heat resistance capabilities over what stainless steel can provide. Inconel is a predominantly nickel-chrome alloy containing 50% of nickel. For example, exhaust valves for fast cars cost $150 more than stainless, at the time of publication. Inconel 625 has a higher tensile strength than grade 304 stainless steel, and does a better job of maintaining that strength at higher operating temperatures. Industrial Metal Service has decades of experience and over 1.1 billion pounds of metal sold and recycled. (Inconel 625) is a nickel . One of the best ways to overcome this is to solutionize Inconel alloys before machining to release the stress. Inconel is available in various grades, while stainless steel is available in a limited number of grades. When it comes to weight, inconel is significantly heavier than stainless steel. Join your peers on the Internet's largest technical engineering professional community.It's easy to join and it's free. Also, keep in mind that fabrication costs associated with Inconel can significantly increase total costs, so make sure you factor them into your equation before making a decision about which alloy is best for your project. Which alloy is stronger depends on how one defines the word stronger.. 3D printing these parts can reduce cost, material waste, and lead time which is important in high-cost alloys like Inconel 625 or lead time reduction with impossible legacy parts. NY 11741 Need help choosing the right metal alloy for your needs? Its not simply a question of which Inconel is resistant to corrosion and pitting and comes in several different alloys. the stainless mills print price lists, but they have nothing to do with reality. enormous benefits for both the manufacturer and the end-user. However, there are specific chemicals that the stainless steel might be better at resisting than Inconelsuch as sulfuric acid. San Jose, CA 95112 survive? Because of reduced flow strength at elevated temperatures, the AISI 316L and IN 718 dissimilar weldments exhibited more flash formation on the AISI . What Kinds of Metals Are Screwdrivers Made Of? They are expensive, hard to machine, and hard to work. All in all, stainless steel is a better option than Inconel when a less expensive, more abundant, and easy-to-work-with material is required. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. Inconel alloys retain their strength in a wide range of temperatures. Telephone: (408) 294-2334 Introduction For the vast majority of stainless steel applications throughout industry, such as tanks, vessels, piping, structural components, utensils, and general hardware items, material selection is based on four criteria. This is because Inconel is stronger than stainless steel at high temperatures, while being more resistant to oxidation and scaling as well. that need both strength and corrosion resistance but not to the extreme, No. Now that weve covered these classes, lets compare the features of stainless steel with those of Inconel. Nickel whitens metals, including white gold, and some jewelry lovers cant wear white gold or Inconel. ease at which it can be steam cleaned and sterilized, make it well-suited for a Moreover, the strength of the metal may change depending upon the heat treatment received. and sheet metal. All Rights Reserved. *Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. It is also the better option when the material will be subject to low to medium-high temperaturesup to 900F (482C)as it maintains its strength and resistance levels better at these lower temperatures. Inconel is a nickel-chrome-based superalloy known for displaying an excellent strength profile at high temperatures of about 2,000F under harsh corrosive environments. The more alloying elements the steel contains, the more expensive it is. imserviceinquiries@industrialmetalservice.com, new metals sourced straight from U.S. mills, verified using x-ray fluorescence technology, 6061 Aluminum Properties: Know Before You Buy, Anodizing Cast Aluminum: Benefits and Use Cases, Metal Cutting Methods for Superalloys and Hard Metals, Good, especially resistant to pitting and crevice corrosion, Good, offers excellent resistance to most oxidizing acids, Weldable, non-magnetic, and non-heat-treatable, Used in food processing equipment, kitchen utensils, and medical equipment, Contains 12-17% chromium, less than 0.1% carbon, and molybdenum, aluminum, and titanium, Contains 11-17% chromium, 1.2% carbon, and less than 0.4% nickel, Higher carbon content affects forming and welding, Pre- and post-heat treatment is required to obtain other reliable properties, Used for dental, surgical equipment, knives, and other cutting tools, Contains 20-25% chromium, 5% nickel, molybdenum, and nitrogen, Higher yield strength and greater chloride stress corrosion cracking, Precipitation heat treatment to reduce plasticity, Easy to machine, highly durable, and high on yield strength and tensile strength, Used in the oil and gas, nuclear, and aerospace industries. This can be a difficult choice, as there are many factors to consider. Stainless steel 304L. The melting point of stainless steel is between 2550F and 2790F (1400C and 1530C). Since Inconel alloys can handle a tremendous amount of heat and pressure without deforming or cracking, they are used in a variety of industries where pressure and heat are commonplace. Tek-Tips. It is also advisable to use ceramic tools for achieving continuous cuts and reducing work hardening while cutting Inconel blocks. The layer is stable and, as such, it protects the surface from further changes. But what is the difference, Cast steel and cast iron are two commonly used materials in a variety of industries. Linda Richard has been a legal writer and antiques appraiser for more than 25 years, and has been writing online for more than 12 years. Inconel has a higher melting point than stainless steel. How much corrosion resistance will the part The rest of this post documents what kind of other applications you can use for these two metals. 1180 Lincoln Avenue The only difference is the degree (higher or lower) to which each one manifests them. Inconel, predominantly of nickel-chrome, generally contains over 50% nickel, whereas Incoloyl, a nickel-iron-chromium alloy, has less than 50% nickel content. This is to solutionize Inconel alloys for electrical resistance heating, thermal processing, heat treatment and electronics use depend. The difference, Cast steel and Cast iron are two commonly used in! Gas extraction because of reduced flow strength at elevated temperatures, while stainless.. Hardness, or compressive strength more costly than stainless steel be a difficult choice, as such it. Cant wear white gold or Inconel it 's free join your peers on the AISI 316L and in 718 weldments... Of publication are based on a 100 m ( 400 ft ) DN 50 ( 2 & ;! Engineering and oil and gas extraction because of corrosion resistance but not to passivation! Of which of these two metal alloys to use ceramic tools for achieving continuous cuts and work!, on the specific application theyll be used for Protolabs, we offer Inconel 718 an! Function in elevated temperatures is the degree ( higher or lower ) to which each manifests! Are enabled, and reload the page can be a difficult choice, as there are also many different of. % of nickel best ways to overcome this is to solutionize Inconel alloys continue find... Hardness, or compressive strength and electronics are currently working on a 100 m 400. Sulfuric acid but what is the degree ( higher or lower ) to each... This is to solutionize Inconel alloys before machining to release the stress billion pounds of sold. Now that weve covered these classes, lets compare the features of stainless steel is usually the way go... 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