Using gaseous quenching mediums, new and improved cooling models are rippling through the heat treatment sector. However, not just any old cloud of gas is going to suit this role. For one thing, an inert element is mandatory. The synthetic atmosphere can’t be influenced by the heat, nor can an […]
Thin-walled tube metals are employed in a wide number of large-scale applications. Whether the tubes find their way into pipe networks or aerospace frames, they need to exhibit one key dimensional attribute. Long and gifted with a shaped cross-section of some kind, the thin-walled metal conduits must be straight as […]
Ideally, heat treatment work affects the microcrystalline structure of a steel part. In the furnace, then cooled gradually or quenched suddenly, the physical properties of the steel alters. The processed component becomes harder. It also gains a more corrosion-resistant structure. What the high-tensile alloy should never experience is any amount […]
The next two heat treatment processes are similar. They both use a nitrogen-rich substance to harden soft metal workpieces. But, as the post title implies, the nitrogen arrives in two different states. In one, the nitriding process is applied as a liquid. In the next, the nitrogen coats the workpiece […]
Atmospheric control is a powerful tool in a heat treatment engineer’s metal hardening armoury. For example, by adding gaseous nitrogen to a furnace, the gas nitride hardening effect is initiated. This process sees the gas come into contact with a heated low carbon workpiece. As the surface metal and nitrogen […]