Nickel rod refers to a solid, straight bar that can be either round or square, although round is much more common, and is composed of either high purity nickel or nickel-based alloys. Nickel rod is generally carried by nickel suppliers rather than nickel fabricators, because although nickel must be fabricated into rods, nickel rod is typically used as a billet, or a solid piece of metal used as the blank slate for forming processes.
Although there are a wide range of nickel alloys, as it is one of the most commonly alloyed elements since it is capable of being alloyed with almost any metal, there are some nickel alloys that are more commonly stocked by nickel suppliers than others including nickel 200, nickel 500, Inconel 600, Inconel 718, Hastelloy C276, Cupro Nickel, Monel K500 and Monel R405. Since nickel rods can be fabricated into so many different parts, they are often necessary in diverse industries such as: aerospace, used to fabricate fasteners, shims and bearings; defense, for use in military jet engines, ejector rod assemblies and weapons; petro-chemical, for use in processing, extraction and power generation applications; nuclear, for use in nuclear reactors and power plants; and industrial manufacturing, where it is often machined into parts such as fittings, flanges and tubing.
Although nickel is a highly malleable element, its temperature-resistant properties can make machining a moderate to difficult process. When it comes to machining, nickel alloys are typically categorized into four main groups: alloys that are 95% nickel or more, nickel-copper alloys, solid solution nickel-chromium-iron alloys and alloys that are age-hardenable. The first group of alloys with 95% or more nickel is characterized by mechanical strength and high toughness. These alloys harden as a result of cold work only. The second group of nickel-copper alloys, often called Cupro nickel, feature higher strength and slightly lower toughness than the first group, but still can only be hardened as a result of cold work. The third group consisting of solid solution nickel-chromium-iron alloys has characteristics very similar to those of austenitic stainless steel. Also hardened by cold work alone, this group includes alloys such as alloys include nickel 270, Monel K-500, Inconel 600, 601, 690 and Incoloy 800, 800HT and 802. The last group can be further divided into two sub-groups, which are: alloys in the aged condition and alloys in the un-aged condition. Some various machining processes used on nickel rods include milling, drilling, turning, grinding and reaming.
