What Heat Treatment Process

 

Heat Treatments

Heat treatments are used to alter the physical and mechanical properties of alloy without changing the shape. These are essential processes in metal manufacturing which increase desirable characteristic of alloys, while allowing for further processing to take place.

Various heat treatment processes involve carefully controlled heating and cooling of metal alloys. Steel, for example, is commonly heat treated for use in a versatility of commercial applications.

Common objectives of heat treatment are to:

• Increase strength
• Increase hardness
• Improve toughness
• Improve machining
• Improve formability
• Increase ductility
• Improve elasticity

The cooling level has different effects depending on the metal and process. When steel is cooled 

quickly it hardens, whereas the rapid cooling stage of solution annealing will soften aluminum.