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Modern alloys are among the toughest materials known to man. A selected alloy, perhaps destined to become a key part in a massive construction project, can handle massive loads, yet still flex ever so slightly when a stiff breeze blow. However, despite being remarkably durable, even the hardest alloys become fatigued. Time is a primary […]

Quenching is an essential stage in heat treatment technology. The rapid cooling of a hot workpiece stops unacceptable low-temperature processes, including the microcrystalline alterations that would otherwise compromise the procedure. Hardness quotients drop while overall material toughness rises, all by applying a well-controlled quench. However, there are trade-offs to be made when steel parts are […]

There’s nothing simple about heat treatment technology. Even the various microcrystalline forms of steel make the process hard to regulate. Among these forms, martensitic stainless steel ranks as a super-hard alloy. It features a dense tetragonal crystalline structure, but where does this dense configuration occur in the heat treatment process? These and other questions will […]

Counterintuitive consequences have been known to compromise heat treatment work. By way of illustration, steel strengthening operations should logically produce strong workpieces. However, there are times when these mathematically predictable results go out the window. Are there strange laws of probabilities in effect? Or is there a straightforward reason for heat treatment induced weakness? Uncertainty […]

While medium carbon steel clearly isn’t as hard as a high-carbon alloy, those lenient mechanical qualities can be enriched. By exposing the steel to flame hardening equipment, a heat treatment technique that uses a focused cone of combusted gas, we fortify the material and reinforce its generally weaker microcrystalline bonds. A mild steel workpiece is […]

Much has been covered in past posts. The basics of heat treatment technology formed a foundation, then that groundwork received new and interesting additional levels. They dealt with surface hardening issues, quenching anomalies, and all manner of tricky alloy manipulating techniques. Now we’re reinforcing the groundwork and reviewing the fundamentals of heat treating science, plus […]

Black oxide is a pleasing surface conversion coating. As stated in past articles, the process dresses steel and other select alloys with a corrosion resistant skin. Although mild in nature, that rust impeding property binds equitably with the latest oil impregnating methods to produce a superior oxidization barrier. Better yet, the formation of that blackened […]

This post will address the gas nitriding process and its effects on steel. Essentially, we’ll be looking at a heat treatment technique that addresses alloy hardening concerns and the need for a process that attenuates the corrosion rate of this ferrous-heavy metal. But first, considering the importance of this subject, just why is gas nitriding […]

Process economy is an ideal we chase in heat treatment technology. Masses of fuel and heat are devoured during a hard day’s work inside this manufacturing environment. How does the work retain a cost-efficient edge? Particularly in flame hardening, how do we surface harden a large workpiece while we’re also worrying about an economical processing […]

To some extent, worked alloys have memory. Stress can be absorbed and stored in the metal. Under these circumstances, heat treatment facilities call upon the services of a stress relieving process, a technique that’s designed to reset that solid-form memory. In a nutshell, the grain of the metal is homogenized. Thermal relaxation takes over at […]