OnlineMetals.com - Guide to Metal Melting Points (ºF)

Depending on your project, melting point can play a key role in the material you choose. Anything from forging high-temperature applications can drastically change your decision. Online Metals is here to provide a quick walkthrough of the wonders of melting points. Each alloy and material have a range of temperatures with lower end of the range "solidus", and the upper end "liquidus." As you might guess from the names, when a metal is cooler than its "solidus" temperature, it's solid. When it's hotter than the "liquidus," it's completely molten and liquid. But the temperature range in between is a strange space where the metal is both molten and solid. Pretty crazy right! Different alloys have different melting ranges as the elements in its chemical makeup change how easily it can melt. An alloy with a high percentage of tin or aluminum will melt at a much lower temperature than alloys that are mostly iron and nickel. Out of the materials Online Metals offers, aluminium alloys have the lowest melting point ranging from about 848 degrees Fahrenheit, with some of the purer alloys to around 1,230 degrees Fahrenheit for more advanced alloys designed for heat resistance like 7075. Copper alloys, bronze and brass have a much wider range, depending on the alloy they will melt between the range of 1,290 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit Bronzes, which often have more tin in them, tend to melt at a lower temperature than, brass which typically have copper and zinc. Pure copper melts at about 1,980 degrees Fahrenheit Steel and iron have the largest temperature range and it really matters how much iron is in the alloy, as pure iron melts at about 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Heavily alloy steels or cast irons start to melt around 2,050 degrees Fahrenheit. Whereas lightly alloyed steels and certain wrought irons melt at about 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit. Lastly, nickel alloys are valued for their high melting points and resistance to heat. Heavily alloyed nickels will begin to melt at about 2,430 degrees Fahrenheit. More lightly alloyed nickels or ones alloyed with specialized metals like chromium, will melt at about 2,950 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also use the color of the metal to gauge how close you are to the melting point. Aluminum usually turns a faint red to blood-red when in melted form. Copper, brass, and bronze range from a cherry red to a lemon yellow. Iron and steel alloys are usually ranging from yellow to white depending on the makeup, while nickels will be pure white when they're at their melting temperatures. Thank you for watching another Online Metals video! Please subscribe to our channel or leave a comment below with questions or future video requests.