Inspect incoming Nickel Alloy 20 ingots or billets. Verify chemical composition strictly against ASTM B472 / ASTM B160 standards via spectrometer analysis, focusing on nickel, iron, chromium, copper and impurity content. Carry out ultrasonic inspection to detect internal defects such as porosity, shrinkage cavities, slag inclusions and internal cracks. Visual inspection checks surface cracks, scabs, folding, oxidation and segregation marks. All inspection results are recorded in batch quality reports. Non-conforming billets are marked, quarantined and returned to raw material suppliers.
2.Hot Forging & Hot Extrusion Forming:
Load qualified Alloy 20 billets into a controlled atmosphere heating furnace. Heat evenly within the specified temperature range, carefully managing holding time to avoid overheating or grain coarsening. Transfer the heated billet quickly to forging equipment for preliminary hot forging to refine coarse cast grain structure, eliminate casting voids. Then proceed to hot extrusion through precision circular die under stable hydraulic pressure. Continuously adjust extrusion pressure, speed and exit temperature to prevent surface tearing, folding and non-uniform metallographic structure, obtaining primary solid round bar blanks.
3.Multi-pass Cold Drawing Sizing:
Apply high-temperature resistant lubricant evenly on the surface of extruded blanks before drawing. Conduct progressive multi-pass cold drawing with customized tungsten carbide drawing dies, controlling the deformation rate of each pass reasonably to avoid work-hardening cracking. Real-time monitor drawing speed, die condition and lubrication effect to guarantee outer diameter tolerance, roundness, straightness and low surface roughness, meeting the dimensional requirements of customer drawings.
4.Intermediate Stress Relief Annealing:
After cold drawing passes, perform stress relief annealing under inert protective atmosphere. Heat the alloy bar to target temperature, maintain constant holding time and then cool slowly. This process removes heavy residual cold working stress generated during drawing, restores appropriate ductility of Nickel Alloy 20, prevents cracking in subsequent processing, and stabilizes the metallographic structure without sacrificing its corrosion resistance.
5.Finishing & Surface Treatment:
Straighten the alloy bar on multi-roll straightening machine to eliminate bending and torsion from hot working and cold drawing. Cut to customized fixed lengths with precision saw equipment, remove sharp burrs at both ends. Carry out sequential pre-cleaning: degreasing to remove drawing lubricants, pickling & passivation to eliminate oxide scale and surface contamination, multi-stage pure water rinsing and drying. A uniform passive film forms on the surface to enhance its inherent resistance to sulfuric acid and reducing corrosive media.
6.Final Inspection & Packaging:
Complete full finished-product inspection: dimensional tolerance, straightness, roundness measurement, visual surface defect check, hardness test, tensile & yield strength test, corrosion resistance spot check and metallographic examination. Label qualified bars with alloy grade, diameter, length, heat number, standard and inspection stamp. Wrap each bar with scratch-resistant protective film, arrange neatly inside fumigated wooden cases, add desiccants and shockproof fillers, fasten packages tightly to prevent collision and moisture damage in ocean or land transit.