Nickel alloy materials, such as Inconel and Incoloy alloys, have high-temperature strength and resistance to corrosion in the atmosphere of the furnace, making them an ideal choice for furnace components. It can still maintain excellent mechanical properties and oxidation resistance at extremely high temperatures, and has good high temperature corrosion resistance, so it is widely used in the heat treatment industry.

Nickel-based superalloys are commonly used in various heat treatment operations, including annealing, vacuum treatment, neutral hardening, carburizing, molten salt, and various other applications. Common equipment is radiant tube, bell furnace, annealing furnace, muffle furnace, distiller, inner cover, fan, argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) cover and chute, furnace roll, heat shield, coal spray gun, burner And heat exchangers, etc., are also used to make corrugated shields, conveyor belts and furnaces, as well as fixtures and carriers that support work during heat treatment. These applications usually use alloys such as 309/309S, 310S or 601, but when higher strength is required, 253 MA® or 602 CA® can be used. RA330® is the main alloy in the heat treatment industry. It has good strength, carburization resistance and thermal fatigue resistance after repeated temperature cycles. RA330® is also not affected by the formation of sigma phase, so it has good ductility and allows Re-straighten or repair welding to extend the service life of the fixture.

In addition, nickel alloys can also be used to produce iron powder and finished sintered parts. 253 MA® and RA330® are used for strip and muffle furnaces for iron powder annealing. Most sintered muffles are usually composed of alloy RA330® or 601. RA333®, 602 CA® and 601 are also commonly used in furnace muffles and boats to reduce molybdenum and tungsten powder.

Inconel alloy is known to withstand extreme temperatures and maintain sufficient tensile strength at high temperatures to continue to maintain moderate loads (Inconel 625® maintains a tensile strength of 13.3 ksi at 2,000°F). This makes Inconel® an ideal basket material for heat treatment applications. Compared with most stainless steel alloys, baskets made of high-temperature alloys such as Inconel® will not deform so easily when the parts are fixed by rigorous heat treatment. Among them, Inconel 600 has excellent carburizing properties and good oxidation resistance at high temperatures. This alloy has long been used in the heat treatment industry for many of the same applications as RA330®. Alloy 600 has useful resistance to dry Cl2 and HCl gas at moderately elevated temperatures.