Stellite

Stellite is a range of cobalt-chromium alloys designed for wear resistance. It may also contain tungsten and a small but important amount of carbon. It is a trademarked name of the Deloro Stellite Company and was invented by Elwood Haynes http://www.wpi.edu/News/Conf/Roundtable/Barcelona/alumni.html in the early 1900's as a substitute for flatware that stained (or that had to be constantly cleaned).

Applications

Typical applications include saw teeth, hardfacing (wear-resistant welding), poppet valves and seats in internal combustion engines and also in acid resistant applications. The first third of M-60 machine gun barrels (starting from the chamber) are lined with stellite. Modern jet engine turbine blades are usually made of stellite alloys, due to their very high melting points and tremendous strength at very high temperatures. In the early 1980s, experiments were done in the United Kingdom to make artificial hip joints and other bone replacements out of precision-cast stellite alloys.

Related Topics:
Saw - Teeth - Welding - Poppet valve - Internal combustion engine - Acid - M-60 - Machine gun - Barrels - Chamber - 1980s

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Stellite has also been used in the manufacture of turning tools for lathes. With the introduction and improvements in tipped tools it is not used as often any more, but it was found to have superior cutting properties compared to the early carbon steel tools and even some HSS tools, especially against difficult materials as stainless steel. Care was needed in grinding the blanks and these were marked at one end to show the correct orientation, without which the cutting edge could chip prematurely.

Related Topics:
Turning tools - Lathe - Tipped tool - Carbon steel - HSS tools - Stainless steel

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