Heat treating metal is a process that is used to harden or soften metals by heating and cooling them until the desired properties are reached. Heat treatment can alter the physical, chemical, structural and mechanical qualities of the metals. Some commonly heat treated metals include aluminum, titanium and magnesium, although steel is by far the most commonly heat treated metal.
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Solar Atmospheres, Inc.Souderton, PA 800-347-3236 Solar Atmospheres, Incorporated specializes in heat treating metal, among many other services. With processing expertise and responsive service, Solar will process your small or large parts efficiently with its unique range of 40 vac. furnaces. Sizes range from lab furnaces to the world`s largest commercial model, a 36 foot long furnace with 150,000 lb. load capacity.
Vac Met IncorporatedWarren, MI 586-264-8100 Vac-Met offers specialized abilities, knowledge, training and experience to help solve the problems peculiar to the processing and fabricating of today`s technologically advanced materials. Vac Met's engineers work closely with each customer in determining their particular need, providing precision heat treating metal services with the quality assurance you deserve. Please call today.
Saran Industries, L.P.Indianapolis, IN 866-585-8024 SARAN INDUSTRIES, L.P., is a family owned and operated business founded in 1964. Saran Industries became a leader in heat treating metal among other related processes with sites across the United States. In 1979, Saran Industries moved to their current thirty acre campus located on the Eastside of Indianapolis, Indiana. For quality products and services, choose Saran.
Byron ProductsFairfield, OH 513-870-9111 Byron Products has earned a reputation as a leader in supplying quality parts and services for a wide and diverse group of clients. "WHATEVER IT TAKES" is Byron's daily motto and by that statement the employees at Byron are dedicated to supplying their customers with the best service at competitive pricing in heat treating metal and many other related processes. Call today!
Hayes Heat Treating Corp.Cranston, RI 401-467-5201 For 50 years Hayes has specialized in heat treating metal in addition to numerous other similar services, serving many customers from a variety of fields such as the aerospace, automotive, electronic, medical and machine tool industries. Hayes' experienced employees are dedicated to helping your business move forward and will put their experience toward finding you the perfect solution.
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Heat Treating Metal
Heat treating is an energy-intensive process that changes the internal atomic structure of the metal being heated. This is accomplished through heating and cooling processes. This can be accomplished using either raw material or pre-formed parts. Some common treatments employed during heat treating include annealing, quenching, case hardening, precipitation strengthening, normalizing and tempering. Annealing, the slow cooling of metal, transforms small grains into larger grains and results in a soft, ductile metal. Quenching, which refers to the rapid cooling of metal, can be used to increase a metal's strength. Case hardening creates a tough outer coating that surrounds a softer more malleable core by combining the ductility of low carbon materials with the strength of high carbon. Precipitation strengthening, also known as age hardening, is a process used to increase the yield strength of the metal. Normalizing erases the effects of any previous heat treatment. Tempering is the reheating of metal to reduce brittleness and increase the metals hardness. There are countless other heat treatments, including but not limited to, homogenizing, stabilizing and stress relieving. All of these improve the quality and form of the metal.
Along with improvements to hardness and ductility, significant increase and reductions can be made to the metals tensile, impact and yield strength qualities. Although heat treatment is most commonly used in changing the physical, chemical, and mechanical structures of metals, the treatment can also be applied to ceramics, glass and polymers. Many different kinds of equipment are used during the heat treating process. Some of these tools include furnaces, torches, salt bathes, heating blankets, and lasers. Industries that use heat treatments with metals include: automotive, construction, military, tool and die, shipping, transportation and aerospace. Some examples of heat-treated metal goods include car doors, airplane wings, swords, musical instruments, and metal machine components. Using heat treatment to produce parts makes the products more capable of performing the requirements necessary in their industrial applications.
