Inconel 718

A nickel-chromium superalloy that keeps most of its strength at 650 °C, where every steel has gone soft — that temperature capability, not room-temperature strength, is what it is bought for. It work-hardens so aggressively that a dwelling cutting tool will glaze the surface and then be unable to cut it at all, which is why Inconel machining is quoted at several times the cost of steel. Additive manufacturing has taken to it precisely because printing avoids most of that machining.

Properties

Density

8,190 kg/m³ — 8.19 g/cm³

Melting range

1260–1336 °C

Tensile strength

1100–1400 MPa

Young's modulus

200 GPa

Thermal conductivity

11.4 W/(m·K)

Thermal expansion

13 µm/(m·K)

Floats in water

No

Magnetic

No

What it is used for

• Turbine discs and hot-section casings
• Rocket engine injectors and nozzles
• Downhole oil and gas tooling
• High-temperature fasteners and springs

How it compares

Does it rust?

Inconel 718 does not rust — rust is iron oxide specifically — but it does corrode, forming its own oxide or salts over time.

Is it magnetic?

Inconel 718 is not ferromagnetic. Most metals are not.