GTAW · Nickel alloy
ERNiCr-3
A nickel-chromium rod used for nickel alloy base metals, dissimilar joints, and overlay, where its niobium addition resists cracking through heavy dilution.
What the designation means
Point at any character to see what it claims. The classification is a sentence written in fields, not a product name.
- ERClassified as both an electrode and a hand fed filler rod.
- NiA nickel base composition rather than an iron base one.
- CrChromium as the principal alloying addition, giving oxidation and corrosion resistance.
- -3The specific chemistry class within the nickel-chromium family, a niobium bearing composition that resists hot cracking and suits dissimilar joints.
At a glance
- Process
- GTAW
- Family
- Nickel alloy
- Positions
- All positions
- Polarity
- DCEN
- Shielding
- Welding grade argon, or an argon-helium blend to improve wetting on heavy sections
- Minimum tensile
- 80ksi
Typical uses
- Welding nickel-chromium alloy piping and vessels
- Dissimilar joints between stainless, carbon steel, and nickel alloys
- Weld overlay and cladding on pressure equipment
How it runs
- Very sluggish puddle that does not wash out on its own, so the rod must be placed deliberately
- Needs a wider joint preparation than steel because it will not flow into a tight bevel
- Resists hot cracking even when heavily diluted by the base metal
- Low heat input and stringer beads give the soundest deposit
Storage and handling
Keep rods in the sealed tube and handle with clean gloves; nickel alloy welds are very sensitive to sulphur and oil contamination.
Compare with
GTAWER2209The matching filler for 22 chromium duplex stainless, deliberately over-alloyed in nickel so the deposit does not solidify with too much ferrite.SMAWE310-16A high chromium, high nickel rod for furnace and heat treatment hardware, where the deposit must resist scaling at temperatures that would ruin ordinary stainless.GTAWER347The stabilised stainless torch rod, used on 321 and 347 base metals and wherever the joint will spend service time in the carbide precipitation range.