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A newly arrived batch of mild steel indicates this is a low carbon steel. The carbon quotient is noted, then the load is transported onwards. Putting this scenario on pause for a minute or two, we ask the following question: can low carbon steels be heat treated? Still frozen in time, the engineers ponder a […]

Undergoing heat treatment, a steel workpiece warms until it’s almost red-hot. Engineers monitor the process, compare the actions taking place in the furnace to specially formulated graphs, and the metal exhibits a hardenability-biased phase change. The newly transformed martensite is ultra-hard, and that microcrystalline state is validated by the quench operation and tempering work. Just […]

Here’s a case study where a steel workpiece was hardened in a cutting-edge furnace. The process is locked in, and it has been exhaustively tested, so the repeatability factor is indisputable. The internal structure of the alloy workpiece has transformed. It’s mechanically harder, more durable and rigid than before the heat treatment action. However, at […]

Heat treated metals are undeniably hard and rigid. Still, their dimensional parameters can and often do change when their microcrystalline matrices are exposed to massive quantities of thermal energy. The crystal structure, tortured by thermal stresses, starts to distort. The alloy piece is warping. Then, quenched in oil or water, it deforms again. To prevent […]

Transforming metal workpieces with intense levels of thermal energy, heat treatment processing manipulates microstructure compositions until a desired mechanical or physical property is achieved. However, even the finest operation can go astray. A defect forms, it’s held over as the part cools, and the requisite heat toughening parameters are not realised. To stop such occurrences […]

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 […]