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Inconel Chemical Etching
Fotofab is a leader in precision etching for Inconel alloys. Offering high-quality components for demanding industries since 1967, our expertise ranges from etching delicate Inconel foils for precise circuit applications to creating corrosion-resistant parts designed for the most challenging environments.
We deliver custom Inconel parts quickly and precisely to meet your industry’s demands. Contact Fotofab today to discover how our Inconel etching solutions can bring your designs to life.
Inconel: Grades, Etching Process & Characteristics
Inconel, a family of austenitic nickel-chromium-based alloys, is engineered to thrive in harsh environments subjected to extreme pressures and temperatures. Its thick and stable oxide layer protects its surface when heated, making it exceptionally resistant to corrosion, oxidation, carburization, pitting, and cracking. The alloy retains its strength over a wide temperature range.
Common grades of Inconel that Fotofab manufactures include:
- Inconel 600: Solid solution strengthened, ideal for applications requiring strength and corrosion resistance in harsh environments. Commonly used in the aerospace, automotive, and energy industries.
- Inconel 625: Offers corrosion resistance while retaining strength across a wide temperature range. Often used in aerospace, industrial, and medical industries.
- Inconel 718: Gamma double prime strengthened, known for its good weldability and ability to handle high-strength applications up to 650°C. Widely utilized in aerospace, military defense, and energy industries.
- Inconel X-750: Exhibits corrosion resistance and strength, perfect for gas turbine components like blades and rotors. Often found in aerospace, energy, and industrial applications.
Fotofab uses a precise chemical etchant to shape Inconel to your exact specifications. The etchant ensures your components are equipped to endure the toughest environments by enabling high precision and customization. Our etching process uses a strong caustic chemical to etch into unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design or image formed to your project’s specifications.
Characteristics of Inconel
Inconel is engineered to offer a superior combination of heat resistance, high-temperature corrosion resistance, toughness, and strength. Other valued characteristics include:
- Good acid resistance
- Forms a thick and stable oxide layer that protects its surface from further attack when heated
- Almost completely free from chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking
- Superior low- and high-temperature mechanical properties
- Pitting, crevice corrosion, and intercrystalline corrosion resistant
- Strong resistance to oxidation at elevated temperatures
Certifications
Fotofab is committed to quality.
Inconel Etching Applications
Inconel alloys, known for their resistance to heat and corrosion, are invaluable in high-temperature applications across industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical, telecommunications, and energy. Acid etching enables the production of highly precise components critical for the following applications:
- Seals: Essential for preventing leaks in high-pressure and high-temperature systems.
- Combustors: Key components in gas turbines and engines, able to withstand high temperatures and pressures.
- High-Temperature Fasteners: Vital for securing parts in aerospace and energy applications, these fasteners resist oxidation and corrosion at high temperatures.
- Pressure Vessels: Used in industrial settings, these vessels handle extreme conditions while maintaining integrity.
- Heat Exchanger Tubing: Designed to transfer heat efficiently in harsh environments.
- Turbocharger Rotors: Critical in enhancing the efficiency of automotive engines by withstanding intense heat and stress.
Nuclear Reactor Components: Ideal for the rigorous demands of nuclear reactors due to their resistance to corrosion, radiation, and high temperatures.
Other Factors
- Inconel’s high-temperature strength is developed by solid solution strengthening or precipitation strengthening, depending on the alloy
- The metal is difficult to shape and machine using traditional cold forming techniques due to rapid work hardening
- Inconel alloys vary widely in their compositions, but all are predominantly nickel with chromium as the second element
- The Inconel family of alloys was first developed in the 1940s by research teams at Wiggin Alloys
- Some Inconel alloys are difficult to weld due to cracking and microstructural segregation of alloying elements in the heat-affected zone
Leveraging Inconel with Fotofab
Our dedication to producing the highest quality precision metal components through chemical etching is reinforced by our certifications (ISO & AS9100D, ITAR Registration, RoHS compliance). Fotofab stands ready, whether for rapid prototyping or full-scale production of Inconel components.
Contact Our Precision Etching Experts today to discuss how we can integrate Fotofab’s advanced Inconel etching capabilities into your next metal component project.