Udimet Scrap Grades We Buy and Sell
Each grade has its own page with composition, identification checks and FAQs.
| Grade | UNS | What sets it apart | Typical scrap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Udimet 500 | N07500 | About 18% cobalt, 2.9% aluminium and 2.9% titanium | Legacy blades, vanes and discs |
| Udimet 520 | N07520 | About 1% tungsten with 5.5 to 7% molybdenum | Blading for aero and land turbines |
| Udimet 700 | – | High aluminium (about 4.4%) and 15% chromium | Blades and discs; close to Astroloy |
| Udimet 720 / 720Li | – | About 5% titanium, the highest of the group | Turbine discs and blades |
What Is Udimet Scrap?
UDIMET is the trade name Special Metals uses for a family of wrought nickel superalloys. The grades on this page share a recipe: a nickel base, 15 to 20% chromium, a substantial cobalt addition, molybdenum, and titanium plus aluminium to form the gamma prime precipitate that keeps them strong at temperature. They were developed for the rotating and highly stressed parts of gas turbines: blades, discs, rings and shafts.
Because they share elements, Udimet grades look alike on a quick reading, and they also sit close to Waspaloy, Nimonic C-263 and Haynes 282. What separates them is the balance: how much cobalt, how much aluminium against titanium, and whether tungsten is present. Aluminium is a light element that most handheld XRF units read poorly, so OES or a lab is often needed to settle a Udimet lot.
The commercial point follows from that. A remelter producing Udimet 720 cannot charge Udimet 700 without shifting its aluminium and titanium, so sorted, single-grade lots carry their full value while mixed "Udimet" lots are bought at the level of the least useful grade in them.
UDIMET is a trademark of Special Metals Corporation, used here only to identify material.
How Udimet Grades Are Told Apart
The chart shows the elements that separate the four grades. Values are nominal; the grade pages give the sources and ranges.
| If the reading shows | It points to |
|---|---|
| Tungsten about 1% with molybdenum above 5.5% | Udimet 520 |
| Aluminium about 4 to 4.4% and chromium about 15% | Udimet 700 (or Astroloy) |
| Titanium about 5% with tungsten 1 to 1.5% | Udimet 720 / 720Li |
| Cobalt about 18.5% with aluminium and titanium both near 3% | Udimet 500 |
| Cobalt about 13.5%, aluminium 1.4%, no tungsten | Waspaloy, not a Udimet grade |
Udimet Scrap Forms We Handle
- Solids: forging flash, ring crops, bar ends, rejected forgings and machined parts
- Ex-service parts: discs, blades, rings and shafts retired at their life limit
- Turnings: dry, single-grade machining chips, kept apart from other disc alloys
- Revert from investment castings where a grade is also cast
Coated blades and parts with braze or other alloys attached are lotted separately. Read solids vs turnings for why form changes the offer.
Grading and Testing Udimet Scrap
- Handheld XRF for nickel, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, titanium and tungsten on every piece or container.
- Spark OES or light-element XRF for aluminium, which decides between several grades.
- Lab analysis (ICP, combustion for carbon and sulphur) where a melter asks for boron, zirconium or carbon.
- Records: heat, forging and part numbers, and mill certificates where they exist.
Background: XRF, OES or a lab? and the PMI inspection checklist.
What Sets the Offer for Udimet Scrap
- Nickel and cobalt content, which together make up most of the value.
- Molybdenum credit, highest in Udimet 520.
- Grade certainty: single-grade lots with readings and records.
- Form and cleanliness: solids over turnings; dry over oily.
- Contamination with other disc alloys, especially iron- and niobium-bearing Inconel 718.
- Lot size, packing and location.
No price list is published; every offer is dated. See how alloy scrap is valued.
How to Sell or Buy Udimet Scrap
- Tell us the grade if known, the form, approximate weight and location.
- Send photographs and any readings, certificates or part numbers.
- We review incoming enquiries and respond with relevant next steps.
- Grade, quantity, Incoterm and documents are agreed in writing.
- The lot ships with invoice, packing list and the documents the destination needs.
Start a sell enquiry or place a requirement.
Mipra Steel imports and buys Udimet scrap in India and exports it: see Udimet scrap importer and buyer and Udimet scrap exporter from India. Lots are sorted and prepared before dispatch: how we sort and prepare scrap lots. Much of what we buy comes from South India, and our head office is in Khetwadi, Mumbai.
Udimet Scrap Import and Export
Udimet scrap moves between turbine supply chains in Europe, North America, the Gulf and Asia. Imports into India go through pre-shipment inspection and are declared under heading 7503.00, nickel waste and scrap; exports are packed by grade and form. Guides: importing into India and export documents. Buyers in the Gulf and East Asia can deal through our Dubai and South Korea offices.
See which superalloy is in which turbine part for how overhaul scrap is sorted by engine section.
Udimet alloys FAQ
What does Udimet mean?
UDIMET is the Special Metals trade name for a family of wrought nickel superalloys, including Udimet 500, 520, 700 and 720. They are used for gas turbine blades, discs and other hot, stressed parts.
Which Udimet grades does Mipra Steel handle?
Udimet 500, Udimet 520, Udimet 700 and Udimet 720, including 720Li, as solids, ex-service parts and dry turnings, each kept as its own grade.
Can Udimet grades be identified with a handheld XRF?
Partly. XRF reads cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, titanium and tungsten well, which separates several grades. Aluminium, which decides between some of them, usually needs OES or a lab.
Is Waspaloy a Udimet alloy?
No. Waspaloy is a separate wrought superalloy, UNS N07001, though it is chemically close to the Udimet grades and is often found in the same disc shops.
Which HS code applies to Udimet scrap?
Nickel is the largest element in all of these grades, so the scrap is normally declared under heading 7503.00, nickel waste and scrap.
Does Mipra Steel buy Udimet scrap outside Mumbai?
Yes. Mipra Steel buys Udimet scrap from sellers across India, and much of it comes from South India: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam.
Sources and Review
Figures are quoted as published in these sources; any value we could not confirm has been left out.
- TMS, Compositions of Typical Wrought Superalloys table: Udimet 700, Udimet 720 (Special Metals ranges), Udimet 720LI (Donachie and Donachie, Superalloys: A Technical Guide, 2nd ed., ASM International, 2002).
- Special Metals UDIMET alloy 520 data, as reproduced by Total Materia and AZoM: composition ranges, UNS N07520.
- Udimet 500 values as listed on this site's Udimet 500 page.
Published by Mipra Steel, Khetwadi, Mumbai · Last updated