Monel 400 Nickel Alloy UNS N04401 - Monel and Monel Nickel Alloys

Monel 401 copper-nickel alloy designed for specialized electrical and electronic applications. It has a very low temperature coefficient of resistance and medium-range electrical resistivity. Used for wire-wound precision resistors and bi-metal contacts. Monel 401 is higher in copper content than Monel 400 for better electrical properties.

Machinability
Conventional machining techniques used for iron based alloys may be used. This alloy does work-harden during machining and has higher strength and "gumminess" not typical of steel. Heavy duty machining equipment and tooling should be used to minimize chatter or work-hardening of the alloy ahead of the cutting. Most any commercial coolant may be used in the machining operations. Water-base coolants are preferred for high speed operations such as turning, grinding, or milling. Heavy lubricants work best for drilling, tapping, broaching or boring.

Turning: Carbide tools are recommended for turning with a continuous cut. High-speed steel tooling should be used for interrupted cuts and for smooth finishing to close tolerance. Tool should have a positive rake angle. Cutting speeds and feeds are in the following ranges: For High-Speed Steel Tools For Carbide Tooling Depth Surface Feed Depth Surface Feed of cut speed in inches of cut speed in inches inches feet/min. per rev. inches feet/min.

Drilling: Steady feed rates must be used to avoid work hardening due to dwelling of the drill on the metal. Rigid set-ups are essential with as short a stub drill as feasible. Conventional high-speed steel drills work well. Feeds vary from 0.0007 inch per rev. for holes of less than 1/16" diameter, 0.003 inch per rev. for 1/4" dia., to 0.010 inch per rev. for holes of 7/8"diameter. Surface speeds of 45-55 feet/minute, are best for drilling.

Milling: To obtain good accuracy and a smooth finish it is essential to have rigid machines and fixtures and sharp cutting tools. High-speed steel cutters such as M-2 or M-10 work best with cutting speeds of 60 to 80 feet per minute and feed of 0.005"-0.008" per cutting tooth.

Grinding: The alloy should be wet ground and aluminum oxide wheels or belts are preferred.

Forming
Monel 401 alloy has good ductility and may be readily formed by all conventional methods. Because the alloy is stronger than regular steel it requires more powerful equipment to accomplish forming. Heavy-duty lubricants should be used during cold forming. It is essential to thoroughly clean the part of all traces of lubricant after forming as embrittlement of the alloy may occur at high temperatures if lubricant is left on.

Welding
The commonly used welding methods work well with this alloy. Matching alloy filler metal should be used. If matching alloy is not available then the nearest alloy richer in the essential chemistry (Ni, Co, Cr, Mo) should be used. All weld beads should be slightly convex. It is not necessary to use preheating. Surfaces to be welded must be clean and free from oil, paint or crayon marking. The cleaned area should extend at least 2" beyond either side of a welded joint.

Gas-Tungsten Arc Welding: DC straight polarity (electrode negative) is recommended. Keep as short an arc length as possible and use care to keep the hot end of filler metal always within the protective atmosphere.

Shielded Metal-Arc Welding: Electrodes should be kept in dry storage and if moisture has been picked up the electrodes should be baked at 600 F for one hour to insure dryness. Current settings vary from 50 amps for material 0.062" thick up to 190 amps for material of 1/2" and thicker. It is best to weave the the electrode slightly as this alloy weld metal does not tend to spread. Cleaning of slag is done with a wire brush (hand or powered). Complete removal of all slag is very important before successive weld passes and also after final welding.

Gas Metal-Arc Welding: Reverse-polarity DC should be used and best results are obtained with the welding gun at 90 degrees to the joint. For Short-Circuiting-Transfer GMAW a typical voltage is 19-25 with a current of 100-175 amps and a wire feed of 225-400 inches per minute. For Spray-Transfer GMAW voltage of 26 to 33 and current in the range of 200-350 amps with wire feed rate of 200-500 inches per minute, depending on filler wire diameter. Submerged-Arc Welding: Matching filler metal, the same as for GMAW, should be used. DC current with either reverse or straight polarity may be used. Convex weld beads are preferred.

Cold Working
Cold forming may be done using standard tooling although plain carbon tool steels are not recommended for forming as they tend to produce galling. Soft die materials (bronze, zinc alloys, etc.) minimize galling and produce good finishes, but die life is somewhat short. For long production runs the alloy tool steel ( D-2, D-3) and high-speed steels (T-1, M-2, M-10) give good results especially if hard chromium plated to reduce galling. Tooling should be such as to allow for liberal clearances and radii. Heavy duty lubricants should be used to minimize galling in all forming operations. Bending of sheet or plate through 180 degrees is generally limited to a bend radius of 1 T for material up to 1/8" thick and 2 T for material thicker than 1/8".