RA333

Forming

Warm working offers little advantage for most

operations. Preheating above 1000F may approach
the low ductility temperature range and cause more
harm than good. Heating RA333 to 1000F does
reduce the yield strength by about 30%. This may
facilitate the dishing and flanging operations involved
in forming heads.

RA333 is normally bent, spun and formed at room

temperature. Heating to bend should be avoided.
Most nickel alloys suffer loss of ductility, and are
likely to tear if formed in the 1200-1600F range.
Plate bend ductility is strongly affected by edge
preparation. Deburring is the minimum acceptable
treatment for sheared plate 1/4 and thicker. Band
sawed or abrasive cut edges work best. Sheared
edges should be ground in the region to be bent.

Hot forging should be started at 2200F. It is important

to heat the metal to 2200F throughout its thickness,
as a cool center may tear. Hot working should be
finished at no lower than 1800F.

Bend radius should be at least equal to the thickness

of the plate. Nickel alloys cannot be reliably bent over
a sharp male die without cracking.

Top:
As-sheared, burr up. Cracked at 40 bend angle.
Middle:
Shear burr removed. Bent 90 before cracking.
Bottom:
Sheared edge ground. Bent 180 flat on itself, no
cracks.
All samples were cut from the same piece of RA333
1/2 plate.

RA333

Machining

RA333 requires low cutting speeds, roughly 25% of

those for AISI B1112 steel, and heavy feeds. Set up
should be rigid, tools ground and stoned sharp.

8-10% fatty oil. It may be blended with equal amounts

of paraffin oil. Water soluble oils or chemical emulsions
are also used, particularly with carbide tools. All traces
of cutting fluid must be removed prior to welding,
annealing or use in high temperature service.

The suggested cutting fluid is a sulpho-chlorinated

petroleum oil containing active sulfur and about

Suggested Speeds and Feeds

Operation

Tool
Material

Speed
SFPM

Turning,
single point
and box tools

M42, M47

20-25

Feed, inch per rev.

rough
finish

Depth of cut, inch

rough
finish

.010

.100

.007

.025

Drilling

C2, C3
carbide
M42

20

.002-.004, drill
dia. 1/8 - 3/4 inch

Tapping
Broaching

M1,
M7, M10
M42

10
8

chip load .002 inches per tooth

Feed, inches per tooth
Cutter diameter, inches
1/4
1/2
3/4
.002
.002
.003
.001
.002
.003

1-2
.004
.004

.050

Feed, inches per revolution

Reamer diameter, inches
1/8
1/4
1/2
.002
.006
.008

1
.010

1-1/2
.012

End
Milling
-peripheral

M42
C2
carbide
M42

70-90

15
60

20

Reaming

Die
Threading

C2
carbide
M2,
M7,
M10

60

Depth of cut

Speed, surface feet per minute:

4-6
5-8
6-10
8-12
Threads per inch:
7 or less 8-15
16-24
25 and up

2
.014

RA333

Heat Treatment

Heat Treatment
Most RA333 fabrications are not heat treated after
forming or welding. If a full anneal is desired, heat
2000-2150F (aim 2000-2050F for sheet gauges),
rapid air cool or water quench. Residual stresses and
some of the work hardening from severe forming
operations may be relieved by heating 1850-1900F,
one hour per inch of thickness, air cool.
RA333 is a fully austenitic material and cannot be
hardened or strengthened by heat treatment.

Effect of Annealing Temperature

On Hardness of Cold Rolled RA33312
Annealing
Temp. F (C)

Hardness at Indicated % Cold Reduction, Rockwell B

0
10
20
40

60

As Rolled

94

105

108

(RC 31)

111

(RC 38)

112

(RC 40)

1400

(760)

102

106

(RC 29)

111

(RC 37)

113

(RC 40)

1500

(816)

102

103

111

(RC 37)

109

(RC 35)

1600

(871)

101

102

99

101

1700

(926)

94

93

98

98

1800

(981)

93

93

98

98

1900

(1036)

90

90

95

96

2000

(1149)

89

90

90

90