Machining Waspaloy: The Fiercest Super Alloy You've Never Seen

[@Erik-rp1hi]

I work for HiShear an aerospace fastener co. They do large lots for Boeing and Airbus. For big bolts like this one they would invest in tooling to Hot stamp the head, grind the shank, hot roll the thread after heat treating. Maybe also roll radius or Roll Burnishing the head/shank radius for higher strength. Then the part goes to plating for what ever is called out.

[@theorangebaron1595]

Fascinating

[@johnathanmandrake7240]

So mostly no "cutting"? I guess that makes sense. If you don't need to, don't.

[@ЖелезнаяЖизнь]

Какая твёрдость по Роквелу у этого материала, после закалки?

[@bluerider0988]

​@@johnathanmandrake7240Rolled threads are stronger too.

[@dvanevski]

25-30Hrc after age hardening ​@@ЖелезнаяЖизнь

[@Hydrazine1000]

Nickel based superalloy with, let's see, 18-21 % chromium, which is ok, 12-15 % cobalt, which is YIKES!, a significant 3.5-5 % molybdenum for increased corrosion resistance, around 3% titanium and about 1.5% aluminium, to form intermetallics (it is age-hardening), a few knife tips of carbon, boron and zircon, and the rest is incidental, so only a max. value, not a minimum required concentration. Yeah, I don't need to _see_ this alloy (congrats, you guys are the first to show it to me!) because the chemical composition tells it all. This is one nasty mother trucker!

[@christopherleubner6633]

Sounds like the metallic equivalent of dragon scales. It would be both hard and tough. 😮

[@Vei2aC]

wow this guys metallurgy is on another planet, verry cool and intresting, i am a blacksmith, so i understand, but not on the level you do =] , like i said, impressive, thanx for the comment sir, appreciate you, Kindest regards.

[@gibbygaming792]

Working in a foundry that makes this stuff, don't worry, melting and alloying it is just as much of a pain as machining it is!

[@markconroy9448]

I have machined this material a few times before and the knowledge you gain on the manual machine really helps the speeds and feeds for when you need to program a CNC !

[@ZZZHarpy101]

Question🤔. Why do material engineers provide data sheets for Waspaloy if machinists prefer to guess speeds and feeds on trial and errors?

[@JaenEngineering]

​@@ZZZHarpy101the data sheets might contain very in depth data about the material properties (yield strength, hardenability, tempco. etc) but the machining data is more guidance to get you close as there are way too many other factors, such as tool type or machine rigidity and resonances, to give concise information.

[@F30586]

What RPM is he getting at 100 SFM?

[@mw8580]

I used to turn Waspaloy to make high performance bolts for F1.

[@nielsoudegriep2900]

Is it like the headbolts?

[@drd1924]

@@nielsoudegriep2900 Likely that and Conrod bolts, Im curious as well

[@nielsoudegriep2900]

@@drd1924 i think hes being held hostage by his f1 team already for spreading the secret weapon is waspaloy🤫🤣

[@drd1924]

@@nielsoudegriep2900 Very likely, he needs to be more covert, We call it Plutonium nitrided Hornetalloy, but those in the know, know what we're talkin bout. lol

[@opendstudio7141]

The pain shows up when attempting to bore and thread smaller diameter features on super alloys.

[@paradiselost9946]

lol, making a throttle shaft from Ti... the slot and the two M3 holes tested me. i quickly decided that sharpening the broken taps was the best approach... short and stumpy :) only got Ti as i couldnt find steel in ground 7mm dia... cheaply, anyway. "give it a go, huh"?

[@MrWhatnext]

I used to run this stuff on a turret lathe many years ago. We used cutting oil, low rpm and heavy feeds. Sharp tools are a must.

[@Orgakoyd]

Very interested to learn more about the ''manual'', or I guess ''mechanically automated control'' machining of this stuff! Were the tools you used similar to what the screw machine operators would use? i.e brazed carbide touched up on Agathon grinders type of thing?

[@trevorgoforth8963]

Nice work Tyson! Thanks for taking us through the entire process!

[@F30586]

Why doesn’t he show what the actual RPM was he was turning that at?

[@shug831]

First came across Waspalloy in Rolls-Royce back in the early 1990's. Machining ring sections for jet engines, took a lot of testing to get the operation sequence correct.

[@drokles2125]

I have heard stories from my coworkers about how some gas turbine blades we make sometimes for Siemens and they are made of that stuff. The machine that runs it shakes so much when it begins to mill that you can feel the vibrations in the floor on the other side of the factory floor. We haven’t made them while I have worked there though so i can’t say if it is true or not but maybe someday I’ll see it for myself

[@apersonontheinternet8006]

It is true.

[@glennjames7107]

I used to weld Waspalloy, Inconel, Monel, and a lot of other aircraft engine alloys. I worked for a company called Chromalloy which was an FAA lic. repair station. We reconditioned hot section parts and combustion chambers for a large variety of commercial aircraft engines. I worked mostly on JT-9D Pratt and Whitney parts, and GE LM-2500 parts.

[@Dillybar777]

YES MORE TYSON! THE RETURN OF THE KING!

[@Vei2aC]

That is a thing of beauty, im the sort of person that could spend hours looking at a nicely machined part, than an real beautiful sculpture, well machined parts ARE sculptures anyway, this part gives me warm feelings, really love the surface finish, so pleasing, this video is prosented in such a detailed way, and VERRY good quality, it so sickening how good it is, i sit here like WOOOOOOOOOW, look at that, ooow, ahhhhhhhh, THANK you SO much for the satisfying factual video, 1000/10 for sure, Best wishes to you and family, and keep up this GREAT content, i want to see more, so ofcourse im subbing, thanx SO much for exsisting in this world good sir, you are a giant to me.

[@sminkles]

I had the pleasure of turning this on a big DSG lathe. A special "one off "for an oil company. It certainly was a massive learning curve for me!!

[@TheSMPeto32]

I'm literally VTL turning a Waspaloy turbine disk now... Using a 3/8 button since I don't have to get into any tight corners. The bigger radius will last waaaaay longer, for anyone that may need to know.. also a lesser depth of cut helps a ton too, but I'm using a totally different composition of insert, so I may have to order up a 433 like this guy is using. Good stuff!

[@precisiond2236]

Machined this decades ago, at Boeings real machine shop, for the space shuttle engines.

[@FutureAIDev2015]

Where the heck do you get your music? It's absolutely incredible! If I can find a playlist that I can listen to for hours I would be so happy.

[@larryblount3358]

I am amazed that a part stick out thatvfar did not cause tool chatter. That wasp metal is tuff stuff. I expect the aluminum was more of a challenge in the prototyping and used for filming purposes. Thank you for the VIDEO.

[@mehmettemel8725]

There was fine chatter during roughing which was removed by the finishing tool.Chatter was loud and clear during roughing.

[@hindleygj]

I don't think I've ever subscribed so fast to someone's channel.

[@alteredfatez]

Great video. Mechanical work of art. Love your programming explanations.

[@AVATARComander]

I learned about this stuff from my parents on an awesome take your kid to work day. Turbo machinery is very interesting

[@punkerz250]

15:04 The sound of the wasp ! 😄

[@jacog999]

I used to be a metal spinner , not a cnc metal spinner!!!!i mean a manual hand spinner, in the aerospace industry. Ive spun waspalloy so many times a nd trimmed it by hand . As a sheet metal its pretty tough aswell to bend and spin

[@shaniegust1225]

Another great video Tyson. Always sooo easy to follow. 💪

[@daveb1870]

Try stellite 31. I used to make the pins that pushed out the old glass headlights thats had the four protrusions on the backside. B4 heat treat they would eat an insert about every 3 parts. This was 1988-89. Then after heat treat they came back and centerless ground everything with tolerances like +.0000 -.0002 you dressed the wheel every pin.

[@tktspeed1433]

Mastercam sure seems a lot easier than writing the code by hand

[@verakoo6187]

I mean that is kinda it's whole point lol

[@Tunkkis]

It definitely is.

[@rolandtamaccio3285]

Very thorough presentation , thank-you ,,, !

[@hoopergraham]

Excellent job Tyson.

[@KylieGranno]

Great work Tyson! Speeds and feeds are KING!

[@allancnc]

Water with high pressure trough the tool pointing directly on the tip of the insert can also reduce wear and you can increase speeds and feeds. 10% coolant solution is also an advantage in these difficult to cut materials.

[@Skook91]

Good explanation, you do a good job explaining what each process does. Would this be a candidate for ceramic turning? Obviously this is for demonstration purposes, but I definitely see how having a (B?) head isn't a 'fixall' for all situations, turret tools can get much close and you can reduce hangouts a whole bunch.

[@Built_it_by-alex]

I know a thing or two about what you're saying but I mostly love watching the machine put in some work

[@philipdean7534]

I would love to see you guys machine some bronze parts, specifically the type found on sea vessels. I currently work with that material as a new manual machinist, aspiring to be a CNC machinist some day.

[@markdavis304]

Good work Tyson👏

[@theom7476]

Cool part, cool video. I've never used that material but you cut it well. Why do you use a tapered endmill to finish the star pattern instead of a straight endmill in an axial (horisontal) orientation to the part? Is the parts corner radius too small to allow a suitable endmill to generate the shape properly in that orientation?

[@ryanclarke2161]

Tyson is such a wizard

[@F30586]

I just started a set up on some MP35N material. This stuff is hard!! I started at 100 SFM right from the gate. So far so good.

[@ghammer9773]

"Going a little light for the threading" sounded very uncharacteristic of both this channel and the alloy, but that chip tells me "a little light" was still pretty aggressive

[@danielmoreira1003]

Lots of information, thanks

[@MLGxBXRxPRO]

I work in a machine shop in Vegas and all we turn is monel inconel and waspaloy

[@smoke3090]

They have conventional or CNC machines

[@Blown460]

I feel sorry for you bro, no aluminium butter...

[@christopherleubner6633]

This stuff would be a lot worse than monel. That stuff is just tough and a bit gummy, this stuff is like IRL adamantium with its chemical makeup, all it would need would be a few percent tungsten and it would be nearly impossible to machine with anything short of EDM.😮.

[@F30586]

You ever turned MP35N?

[@luvmechanix]

It must be squeaky in there

[@klauth_Yksyn]

Wonderful material! I've welded quite a bit of it over the years for turbo machinery shops.

[@connormagill4201]

The Sketchy King meme is so good hahahaha

[@JohnDoe-fn1me]

This is so damn cool in 1000 different ways! I would pay for a guided tour and even to do some work 😁

[@vobchopper]

If you think that's tough try nimonic PK33, I used to work in a superalloy production facility, it was hard to just cut the billets with an abrasive wheel

[@davegill8634]

Awesome Content As Always Tyson 👍

[@PrudenceEdison]

Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.

[@semperfidelis8386]

What do you people do now? Are you a shop....making parts for customers? Are you a school? What exactly are you all into?

[@trevorgoforth8963]

Our company is dedicated to creating high level educational CNC machining content like this. Our goal is to bring awareness to the trade and educate people to help give them a skillset that will allow them feed their families. In addition, we will also take on unique projects for customers like machining Brandon Herrera's AK50 and making a custom billet front grille for Gas Monkey Garage. We are also continuously developing our free online CNC academy and CNCEXPERT which is a platform built specifically for CNC machinists!

[@Optimiser113]

Making money I would suggest.

[@emilkofod]

Titans of CNC is basically a showroom for machine and tool manufacturers, every video you see is pretty much an ad for Machine/Tool/CAM solutions. You might also learn something in these videos. But don't go around thinking they make these videos purely for educational purposes.

[@lst1nwndrlnd]

Everything fun and profitable

[@semperfidelis8386]

@@emilkofod Thanks....how do you all make money??

[@karltite128]

This is over my head, but damn I love veiwing. Carry on.

[@matthewjordan3348]

For cutting aluminum "dry" for camera purposes I would suggest giving the piece a little spray of WD-40 first. Will cut much better and still give you a great shot.

[@mehmettemel8725]

Well after the first pass there is nothing left on the surface so no point besides making smoke.

[@ljubomirculibrk4097]

Isopropyl 99%, no smoke

[@tr0nb0y]

So it that a $5000 bolt? Cause that seems like a lot of work to make a damn bolt. Holy moly!

[@InssiAjaton]

I have never seen Waspalloy being machined. But I have seen a sheet metal item butt welded with TIG. A beautiful seam without filler metal. If I remember, it was also done without back-up gas. The part was likely a special nozzle, shaped as a partly flattened cone, i.e. an elliptical cross section. The welding required rather funny shape tooling.

[@revolveperformance]

Sounds like some seriously tough material! :D

[@oxnardmontalbo5333]

Roll threads on this stuff all the time, definitely prefer it over multiphase

[@damianschlumpf3069]

Hi I really enjoyed this video👍 Is there a reason why you didn't use a continuous spiral path for the finishing pass of the star?

[@LTVG.]

Wow this is NUTS, *bolt

[@antscaleeez7924]

Hi i was wondering if the online cnc acadamy would help me working woth cnc's that work woth stone and like granite, quartzite etc. I have 7 years experience and can run some pretty advanced stuff, but i am always interested in learning everything about it. Working witg metals is fairly similar, just a little more percision but i was wondering if the academy would help me with that. Thanks

[@travisjarrett2355]

Some gnarly stuff for sure! If you know you know!

[@juusojuuso9214]

Wish there was on-screen translations for imperial to metric 8) E: Well well well, found the conversions! Now I'm a happy clam

[@mikedeadspace8052]

I work on this everyday! Parts for the F22 🔥🔥🔥

[@glenndwyer5786]

Nice part, I'd love to be able to program the star pattern

[@jakospence]

Not a lot of people get to say they “kiss the back wall with just the tip” at work

[@Robert-m7s2j]

Surprised you haven't got the diamond inserts that cut metals

[@setesh1294]

Do ES-1 or Aermet next if you haven't already.

[@pushket9135]

СОЖ льется везде, но не там где нужно. Для обработки труднообрабатываемый материалов это очень важный фактор, который влияет на стойкость инструмента. Не уже ли у kennametal нет державок с подводом СОЖ на режущую кромку. Если нет то купите у Sandvik, бонусом видео будет приятней смотреть.

[@biytor9071]

You guys ever use a set of spindle nose attachments with collets?

[@dazzle3096]

I’ve seen the same bolt on Alibaba for .39 cent

[@BeardMan01]

Rolled threads and forged heads are substantially stronger. Just look at how bicycle spokes are made. High tension fine threads.

[@plasmahead2]

I wanna weld it.... Not the bolts specifically but waspaloy in general

[@snailze6761]

Chef's kiss, it's a beautiful 😚🤌

[@lomobster]

is waspaloy easier or harder to machine than inconel? In my shop we never run inconel above 90 SF/M. These speeds and feeds seem high.

[@davidg3944]

The cobalt added to the alloy likely makes it more difficult than most of the Inconel family.

[@F30586]

What rpm is he using? What does 100 SFM calculate to for a piece that diameter?

[@johnhudson5135]

Great job Tyson lets keep up the Lathe content.

[@Hippocrab]

Jinxed yourself when you said " Tool Life"

[@donniehinske]

Nice video Tyson! Waspolloy can be AWFUL to machine.

[@joshbaker2374]

Can't think of a part, however I'm curious if there's a way to program and make a detailed miniature like perhaps the arbiter from halo as an example. Without layering or any tooling marks, just smooth nice finish in titanium or something nifty like that, done in let's say 30mm tabletop gaming to minimize material waste and it'd be nifty if possible. I've seen dice and other simpler designs so figured eh why not toss that idea. Or a custom tool chest completely made from parts y'all made with machining in mind?

[@verakoo6187]

It's not impossible but the price tag for somethin like that would be in the $1000's lol. Alot more logical to 3d print/mold stuff like that

[@joshbaker2374]

@@verakoo6187 Eh I was thinking it'd be neat to see em program and make something like that as it'd be different yet interesting. Especially if they do a walk through of the reasoning for how and why they did each thing as they did. Something like that just happens to be similar to my other interests so I mentioned it, I already have the ability to print em if desired. It's more or less just a huh toss idea out there see if they or someone likes it enough to try it and make a video about it.

[@nickmolloy9563]

Would be nice to know exactly what that fastener was fitted to and used for. The one detail you omitted. Thanks.

[@davidg3944]

It's a showpiece, not intended for any function except to show the process and tooling using to cut Waspaloy. A "real" aerospace fastener like that would have a 12-point (not 8) drive, and more likely be forged and roll-threaded instead of cut thread (for toughness and thread flank surface finish quality).

[@F30586]

I have a couple of questions here. Why are you clamping on the thread at pick off, but then pausing and pushing the part all the way in so you’re clamping on that clean shaft and up against the flange face after? Why not just do all that at pick off?

[@tommooe4524]

Very interesting…..approximately what would a bolt like this cost to fabricate ?

[@C-M-E]

It's not often where I click a vid touting an unusual material that I'd actually not either sweated over or tortured some machinery trying to do the impossible with. Inconel, I could write a book about, but Waspaloy was truly a 'what did he say?' moment. Guess I've been spending too much time in composites!

[@archietiberius5005]

Just for giggles... Any idea how it compares to Rene-88? A nickel superalloy used by GE to make the turbine shafts for all their engines - by far and along the hardest stuff I've ever worked with. Anything deeper than about 4 thou and it smoke the insert almost immediately, coolant or not.

[@RH-om1ph]

Id like to see a shaft made out of tungsten, using diamond inserts.

[@mehmettemel8725]

Who the hell makes a shaft out of tungsten hard and brittle.

[@ljubomirculibrk4097]

​@@mehmettemel8725Its not pure tungsten, he ment carbide shank. Similar to inserts just much more bunder, cobalt to increase impact resistance. Since its high mass per volume it reduces vibration best. Diamond hates vibrations and impacts as well since its hardness. He is right in that combo. Beauty finsh

[@mehmettemel8725]

@@ljubomirculibrk4097 I don't think you understood what he said.He said making a shaft out of tungsten.We all know about carbide shank tools and anti-vibration tools and so on.He could have simply said he wants to see tungsten machined with a diamond tool.

[@LukedriveitlikearentalRo-ri7tm]

Now that's one expensive bolt that I couldn't afford

[@sunnyduong7325]

Been machining wasp over 15 years. Small to 2k lbs parts, have to say it can be challenging sometimes. Easier than running heat treated steel for sure.

[@nikolaishriver7922]

What if you put a spring-cushioned type of ram into a tool slot, and used that to automatically set the part back into the second chuck? I mean, assuming you're making more than a handful.

[@nathanthomas8184]

What make this material superior to others in application? BOOM

[@PonkyKong]

Heat resistance. And hardness.

[@user-hf5nh8pr4g]

I want to see machining Hafnium!

[@jessevanes1]

so!! where it is it, going to fit?

[@joshbrooks109]

What material is it oh it’s wasp this shift is going to suck

[@elshansalimiyan5066]

Amazing 🤩❤️

[@Hippocrab]

would be cool if a robot arm with a wire edm on it could pop out for your cut off.

[@stevieg2755]

Reminds me of Nitronic 50

[@ЖелезнаяЖизнь]

Какая твёрдость у этого материала, после закалки?

[@muellermaxwell]

You can do a stock pull then pick off cut off

[@alexdalton7290]

Killing it with the lathe stuff man I’m scared of those late people are built different 😆 have you guys ever tried 3D printing carbide tooling and grind it to sharpen it I’d love to see that attempted were I work we’ve looking into (DLS) but the resolution isn’t quite there for the 3D printed rubber molds we make tolerances of .005in nothing for machining be a real challenge for 3D printed mold inserts #htm 140v2

[@Silver_Nomad]

Just buy 45 degree tilt style lathe cutter that was created specifically for B-axis lathes, and you won't need to tilt your basic cutter horizontally.

[@dragonslayer3815]

Why do you think that taper would help with tool life? I am very curious.

[@davidg3944]

Stiffer tool than a regular ball endmill, cutting down chatter and resultant edge fracture.

[@ericcleland817]

How much does it cost for this type of bolt to be machined?

[@archimedesCNC]

did you really grip on that radius in the 2nd op?

[@davidg3944]

They must have chamfered the ends of the jaws to clear the radius. I wondered about it too when I saw him run the piece up the chuck.

[@F30586]

I want to know why at pick off, why he didn’t feed all the way up to the flange face in the first place. I was taught to never clamp on threads.

[@nicke5786]

Hey Tyson What do you normally set your G50 max rpm at?

[@vobchopper]

Most of these alloys are age hardening, so annealing them before machining would help

[@simoncleret]

Have you machined any amorphous metals yet?

[@SeanMurphy-d5m]

Donny my dude how you been