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 […]
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 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, […]
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 […]
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 […]