01
Galling and built-up edge
The material is soft and gummy. Run it with a positive rake tool and you still get weld-on at the edge. Once that happens, surface finish drops and the operator keeps chasing the dimension.
N02200 · UNS N02200 · Commercially pure nickel
Nickel 200 N02200 Alloy CNC Turning
Commercially pure nickel turned into shafts, sleeves, terminals and valve parts. Run on 16 mill-turn centers with ±0.005 mm tolerance and full material traceability.
N02200±0.005 mmØ400 mm rotary tableRa 0.8–1.6 μmISO 9001:2015No MOQ
2011Turning nickel parts since
127High-precision CNC machines
±0.005 mmAchievable turning tolerance
99.99%Qualification rate
Where turning goes wrong
The wrong setup punishes you on this alloy
Four failure patterns we see from shops that treat N02200 like stainless 304.
02
Heat that stays in the cut
Low thermal conductivity means the heat has nowhere to go but the tool and the part. Without flood coolant aimed at the insert, edges break down early and the bore grows as the part heats up.
03
Distortion on thin walls
Sleeves and thin-wall rings move when the chuck releases them. If the shop roughs and finishes in one pass, bores come back oval and the assembly will not seat.
04
No mill certificates
Chemical and food equipment buyers need heat-number traceability. A shop that buys on price alone cannot hand you a certificate of conformance tied to the bar.
How we run it
Turning pure nickel without wrecking the finish
Tooling, coolant and inspection set up around the material, not around the machine's default recipe.
Cutting strategy
Sharp geometry, heavy flood, low surface speed
N02200 work-hardens slowly but galls fast, so we cut under the skin. Carbide inserts with a sharp, uncoated edge and a light hone go in at moderate speed with a deep, constant feed. No dwelling, no spring passes.
High-pressure flood coolant goes straight at the insert tip. That keeps heat out of the part and stops chips from welding back on. For long shafts we use a steady rest and turn between centers so the part stays straight.
- 1ToolingSharp uncoated carbide, positive rake, no dwell at the end of the pass
- 2CoolantHigh-pressure flood at the insert, not a mist
- 3SetupSteady rest or between centers for anything over 6× diameter
Mill-turn
One chucking for cross-holes and flats
Many nickel parts are more than a turned profile. A terminal has flats and a tapped cross-hole. A valve body has a hex and an angled port. On our 16 mill-turn centers, the part stays in one chucking and the sub-spindle does the back side.
That matters because every re-chucking on soft nickel risks a burr or a jaw mark. One setup also holds concentricity between a bore and an OD, which is what usually drives the assembly fit.
- 1Cross featuresFlats, hexes and radial holes cut in the same cycle
- 2Back sideSub-spindle picks up the part; no second op on a separate machine
- 3ConcentricityBore and OD held in one setup, not stacked from two
Pick the right alloy
When N02200 is the answer, and when it is not
A quick comparison against the two alloys buyers usually weigh against it.
| Property | Nickel 200 (N02200) | Stainless 316L | Nickel 201 (N02201) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corrosion in caustic | Excellent | Moderate | Excellent |
| Magnetic behaviour | Ferromagnetic | Non-magnetic | Non-magnetic |
| Machinability | Gummy, needs sharp tools | Better chip control | Slightly better than 200 |
| Typical use | Chemical, electronic, food | General corrosion | Parts above 315 °C |
| Cost | Higher than 316L | Baseline | Higher than 200 |
What we do
Services around a turned nickel part
Turning is usually the first op, not the last one.
01
CNC Turning & Mill-Turn
Shafts, sleeves, bushings, fittings and terminals up to Ø400 mm on the rotary table. One chucking for cross-holes and flats.
02
5-Axis Machining
For nickel bodies with angled ports or contoured profiles. 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers, travel up to 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm.
03
Rapid Prototyping
One-off nickel prototypes to check fit and thread engagement before you commit to a run. No minimum order quantity.
04
Surface Finishing
Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and polishing. Plating options include electroless nickel when the part needs a harder skin.
05
Inspection & Reports
100% inspection before shipment. Raw material check, in-process monitoring, final inspection, with reports on request.
06
Assembly & Packaging
Sub-assembly, thread protection, individual bagging and labeled cartons so parts arrive ready for your line.
Turning range
What we can hold on a turned nickel part
Numbers below are what we quote against, not what we hope for.
| Item | Range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm (±0.0002 in) | On critical diameters and bores |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm | Fine finish on sealing faces |
| Standard finish | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm | Default turned surface |
| Max turned length | 4,000 mm | With steady rest support |
| Rotary table | Ø400 mm | For mill-turn cross features |
| Run size | 1 to 10,000+ | No minimum order quantity |
| Delivery | 3–5 days | After material and drawing release |
| Quote turnaround | 12 hours | Includes free DFM analysis |
Why GreatLight
Built for nickel work, not adapted to it
Six things that decide whether a turned nickel part passes incoming inspection.
15Y
Metal cutting since 2011
Three wholly-owned plants in Dongguan and Singapore, 7,600 m² of floor space and 150 technicians on the machines.
±0.005 mm
Tolerance we quote
Held on critical diameters and bores, verified with calibrated instruments before the part leaves the floor.
127
High-precision CNC machines
Including 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers, 12 four-axis mills and 16 mill-turn centers for nickel profiles.
12 h
Quote and DFM analysis
Send a STEP file and a drawing. You get a price and a manufacturability note within 12 hours.
99.99%
Qualification rate
Backed by 100% inspection before shipment: incoming bar check, in-process monitoring, final dimensional report.
4
Quality systems
ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 27001:2022 cover the plants that would run your order.
7,600 m²Manufacturing space
150Technicians
3Wholly-owned plants
<2%Historical late-delivery rate
Where these parts go
Sectors that buy turned nickel and what they check
Chemical processing
Caustic handling parts where 316L corrodes too fast. Buyers check heat-number traceability and sealing-face finish.
- Ra 0.2–0.8 μm
- Mill certs
Electronics
Terminals, anodes and current-carrying components. Conductivity and clean threads matter more than cosmetic finish.
- Bore ±0.005 mm
- 100% inspection
Food and dairy equipment
Valve stems and fittings that must resist caustic washdown and stay free of crevices for clean-in-place.
- No crevices
- Passivated edges
Industrial machinery
Wear sleeves and bushings running against aggressive media. Fit and roundness drive the reorder, not price.
- Roundness held
- 1 to 10,000+
FAQs
Questions engineers ask before sending a PO
Why turn N02200 instead of 316L stainless?
The deciding factor is usually caustic and chloride service. 316L stress-cracks in hot caustic; commercially pure nickel does not. If your media is neutral or mildly acidic, 316L is cheaper and machines better.
The second factor is magnetic behaviour. N02200 is ferromagnetic, so keep it out of applications that need a non-magnetic part.
When should I specify Nickel 201 (N02201) instead?
Above roughly 315 °C, standard N02200 can graphitize and lose ductility. Nickel 201 keeps the low carbon content that avoids this, so it is the safer choice for high-temperature service.
Below that temperature the two alloys behave almost the same on the lathe. We can quote either from the same drawing.
What surface finish can you hold on a turned nickel face?
Ra 0.8–1.6 μm is our standard turned finish. Where a face seals against a gasket or an O-ring, we can work down to Ra 0.2–0.8 μm.
Gummy materials scratch easily, so very fine finishes come from a controlled finishing pass, not from polishing after the fact.
How do you stop thin-wall sleeves from distorting?
We rough with stock left on, let the part cool, then finish. Soft jaws or a collet spread the clamping load instead of three points of a hard chuck.
For walls under 2 mm we sometimes finish on a mandrel. It costs a little more setup time and saves the part.
Can you supply material certificates with the parts?
Yes. Mill certificates trace the bar back to its heat number, and we issue a certificate of conformance with the shipment. Inspection reports are available on request.
If your quality system needs a specific report format, send it with the RFQ and we will confirm it before quoting.
What lead time should I plan for?
Quotation and DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours once drawing and material are released.
Turned parts typically ship in 3–5 days. Longer if the bar size is not in stock or if a plating step is involved.
Do you have a minimum order quantity?
No. We run from a single prototype to 10,000+ part runs. The setup cost is spread differently at each end, which is why one-off pricing looks different from a 5,000-piece price.
Prototype parts are a normal order for us, not a favor.
How is my drawing protected?
Uploads are secure and confidential. We can sign an NDA before you send files, and we do not share customer drawings or part photos.
If you need the tooling or fixtures quarantined from other jobs, say so in the RFQ.
Send the drawing, get a real answer
Upload a STEP file and a 2D drawing. You get pricing, a DFM note and a lead time, not a sales call.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo minimum order quantity
