The metal 3D printing has brought Inconel, conventional alloy nickel-based and high-temperature resistant, walk-in xxi th century. The Inconel 718, the hardened successor to Inconel 625 Pipe. It is the latest addition to the growing stock of metals for direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). It is ideally suited to extreme environments, especially applications at temperatures between -252 ° C and +704 ° C. At this temperature aluminium and steel would begin to flow. This makes it ideal for heavy industries and aerospace, for example, for building parts of turbines or jet engines.

It is indeed with reactors that the history of Inconel began. It is created in the 1940s as part of the development of the Whittle reactor. This mixture of nickel and chromium represented the perfect recipe for obtaining a material that was both mechanically and thermally resistant, stainless, inexpensive and light. Tungsten was too heavy, copper melted at moderate temperatures, aluminium and steel lacked strength and corroded. The arrival of superalloys such as Inconel allowed aerospace progress too. They were essential for the advent of reactors.

Let's go back in speed to our century, where we have materials that are evolutions of these first superalloys. Inconel 718 is a predominant superalloy today, and for a good reason. Its strength arises from its ability to create a thick and stable layer of passivating oxide at high temperature. This layer protects the material from subsequent attack.

While the Inconel 718 is ideally suited for building components for jet and rocket engines, the aerospace industry is not the only one to benefit from this material. The heavy industry can also benefit, where equipment is exposed to extreme environments.

The Inconel 718 is known to be difficult to machine due to expensive tools, material loss and prone to defects. This is why DMLS 3D printing, especially for complex parts, can provide excellent results. The DMLS process preserves the mechanical properties of Incoloy 825 Tube. The directional solidification can even further improve them overcast and wrought parts.

Thus, with a prestigious past, the Inconel 718 continues to fly from success to success. This can be said that the superalloy will continue to contribute to the engineering of the future.

 Advantages of the inconel 718

High resistance

Excellent resistance to high temperatures and corrosion

Good tensile strength, fatigue, creep and breakage

Geometric limits of inconel 718

Minimum wall thickness: 1.00 mm; minimum detail dimension 1.00 mm

Minimum bosses: 0.5mm high and wide; 0.8mm for text and images

Minimum dimension of engraved details: 0 5 mm deep and 0.6 mm wide; 1.0mm wide for text and images

Max dimension workpiece size: 245 x 245 x 300 mm

A little about DMLS

Direct Metal Laser Sintering is a business 3D printing process. The production parts in less than seven days, with materials with better properties than when they are. They are moulded and wrought. DMLS is ideal for the fabrication of medical implants, and for part geometries or structures that cannot be achieved with another process.

Inconel 718 is just one of several materials for DMLS available. The complete list of DMLS materials is as follows:

Aluminium

Inconel 718

Maraging steel

Stainless steel

Titanium