We machine this nickel-chromium alloy into burner nozzles, furnace fixtures and exhaust hardware that hold their shape at 1,100 °C. Five-axis capability, ±0.005 mm tolerance, and a quote back in 12 hours.
The material punishes habits that work fine on 304 or 17-4PH.
The alloy hardens the moment the tool rubs instead of cuts. A dwell of a few milliseconds at the start of a pass and the next insert is cutting into a surface harder than the one before. Depth of cut drops, tool life collapses, and the operator chases the dimension all afternoon.
Thermal conductivity is low, so cutting heat stays in the edge and the workpiece. Tools fail from temperature rather than load. Without high-pressure coolant aimed at the flank, edges chip and the surface turns rough within a few parts.
Hot, gummy chips pack the flutes and rub the finished wall. A flange that gauges true at 09:00 can be out by 0.05 mm after a long roughing cycle. If the process does not control heat and chip evacuation together, the drawing tolerance is a coin toss.
Subsurface cracks from a bad insert rarely show under a bright light. They open up after the part has seen a few thermal cycles in service. That is a field failure, not a shop rework, and it costs far more than the part.
Tooling, coolant and inspection are chosen for this material from the first operation.
We rough with ceramic or carbide grades that tolerate the heat, then let the part stabilize before finishing. Constant engagement toolpaths keep the edge in cut and out of the hardened layer. No dwell, no rubbing, no second pass over a work-hardened surface.
For thin features we step down in small axial increments and use high-pressure through-tool coolant. Chips leave the pocket instead of recirculating. This is what keeps a 1.5 mm wall from springing open after the fixture releases.
Burner swirlers, combustor liners and manifold bodies often carry compound angles and deep pockets. On a three-axis machine those features need multiple setups, and every setup adds stack-up error. We tilt the tool instead and cut the feature in one orientation.
Our 16 simultaneous five-axis centers cover a Ø400 mm rotary table and travels up to 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm. Larger ring and plate parts go on the mill-turn centers. Fewer setups means fewer datums to trust and a shorter path from stock to finished part.
Pick the material before you pick the process.
| Requirement | Inconel 601 | Better alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous service above 1,000 °C | First choice | Ceramic or refractory metal |
| Cyclic oxidation with sulfur | Strong resistance | Inconel 625 for chlorides |
| Heavy chloride pitting | Not the strong point | Hastelloy C-276 |
| Cost-driven room-temperature part | Overkill | 304 or 316L stainless |
| High-strength low-cycle fatigue | Adequate | Inconel 718 or Waspaloy |
| Thin-wall welded assemblies | Good formability | Inconel 600 for weld ease |
One shop covers turning, milling, drilling, grinding and finishing.
Rods, bars and tubes turned into shafts, bushings and nozzle bodies. Live tooling cuts cross holes and flats without a second machine.
Plates, blocks and forgings milled into brackets, liners and housings. Three, four and five-axis capacity matches the geometry.
Cooling passages and thermowell bores drilled with controlled pecking, so the drill does not rub and work harden the wall.
Sealing faces and mating surfaces ground to Ra 0.2–0.8 μm where a gasket or metal seal has to seat.
16 mill-turn centers run turned and milled features in one cycle for parts that would otherwise need three fixtures.
Bead blasting, tumbling, polishing and laser marking. Marking keeps a 1.5 mm minimum character height so it stays legible after service exposure.
Numbers taken from the machines on our floor.
| Item | Capability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm (±0.0002 in) | On critical features |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm | Ground sealing faces |
| As-machined finish | Ra 1.6–3.2 μm | General milled surfaces |
| Maximum part length | 4,000 mm | Long furnace and exhaust parts |
| Rotary table | Ø400 mm | Ring and flange work |
| Part quantities | 1 to 10,000+ | Prototype through production |
| Quality system | ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 13485, ISO 27001 | Reports on request |
We have cut nickel alloys since 2011. The tool grades and parameters are already dialed in, so your first article is not a science experiment.
In-process probing and a controlled finishing pass keep critical features inside ±0.005 mm across the run, not just on the first part.
16 five-axis centers, 16 mill-turn centers and 12 four-axis mills. Turning, milling and grinding stay in-house.
A quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval.
Raw material check, in-process monitoring and final inspection on every order. Dimensional reports on request.
Prototype quantities and 10,000-part runs use the same process. No minimum order quantity is applied.
Combustor and exhaust hardware. Oxidation resistance matters more than peak strength here.
Radiant tubes, supports and trays that stay straight through repeated thermal cycling.
Burner nozzles and hot-gas manifolds for thermal processing equipment.
Exhaust probes and sensor housings that see cyclic heat on the dyno.
Yes, on critical features. It depends on the geometry. A short bored bore or a ground face is straightforward. A long thin wall that has been roughed hot is harder, because the part moves as it cools.
We plan the finishing pass after the part has stabilized and probe the critical features in process. If a feature cannot hold that tolerance, we say so during the DFM review rather than after the first article.
On turned parts, 1.5 to 2 mm per side on the diameter is a safe allowance for roughing and finishing. On milled pockets, 1 mm on the walls and floor works for most geometry.
Thin sections need less stock and more care. Extra material on a 1.5 mm wall adds heat and passes, which raises the risk of distortion rather than lowering it.
As-machined surfaces land at Ra 1.6–3.2 μm. A controlled finishing pass reaches Ra 0.8–1.6 μm. Ground sealing faces go to Ra 0.2–0.8 μm.
Below that, lapping is a separate operation and rarely needed on high-temperature parts unless a metal seal calls for it.
All three. Bar and tube suit turned nozzles and bushings. Plate and block work for brackets and liners. Forgings are common where the grain flow has to follow the load path.
Send the stock form you plan to use. If a forging is specified, we machine to the as-forged surfaces and note any stock shortfall in the DFM report.
Rough, stress relieve if the geometry allows, then finish with light radial engagement and high-pressure coolant. We also avoid reclamping on a finished surface.
For very flexible parts we leave a sacrificial web and cut it in the last operation. Fixture design matters as much as the cutting data here.
Yes. We source the alloy and provide the mill certificate with the shipment so the heat number is traceable.
If your drawing calls out a specific supplier or a certified melt source, tell us at quoting. Substituting a different heat is not something we do without written approval.
Every order gets a raw material check, in-process monitoring and a final inspection before shipment. Dimensional reports are available on request.
For first articles we can provide a full dimensional layout. Tell us which features are critical and those get measured in detail.
Quotation and DFM feedback come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval, and parts ship in 3–5 days for standard quantities.
Large or multi-operation parts take longer, and we confirm the schedule at quoting rather than after the order.
Upload the model and we return a price with a free DFM analysis. One prototype or a 10,000-part run.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo minimum orderNDA on request
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Upload your 3D model or 2D drawing and get a quotation with a free DFM analysis. Maximum processing size 4,000 mm.
CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
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