Steel heat treating is a process that is used to harden or soften steel by heating or cooling the metal until it reaches the desired point of hardness. In steel, like all metals, the structure and composition of the grains, or crystallites, determines the overall mechanical qualities of the metal. Heat treatment can be used to alter the chemical, physical and mechanical behavior of the metals.
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Solar Atmospheres, Inc.Souderton, PA 800-347-3236 Solar Atmospheres, Incorporated is a commercial company that, as an industry leader, delivers unsurpassed quality and capacity for heat treating steel, in addition to many other quality services. Solar Atmospheres' extensive knowledge and expertise, gained from decades of experience, provides multiple industries with superior solutions to their processing challenges.
Vac Met IncorporatedWarren, MI 586-264-8100 Vac-Met, Inc.'s laboratory has a complete complement of testing equipment that can be used to inspect and analyze the results of their quality heat treating steel processes and other related services performed in their state-of-the-art facilities, guaranteeing its customers the quality solutions they deserve every single time. Please contact Vac-Met's experienced personnel with any questions.
Saran Industries, L.P.Indianapolis, IN 866-585-8024 Saran Industries has become one of the nation`s leaders in the heat treating steel, in addition to industrial finishing and custom processing of forgings, castings and machined parts. Saran provides the highest quality services including casting impregnation, shot blasting & shot peening, fluorescent penetrant inspection, leak testing and more. Please call Saran today.
Byron ProductsFairfield, OH 513-870-9111 Being able to react with personalized and professional service is what has allowed Byron Products to be in business and grow since 1982. Byron Products is AS 9100B, NADCAP Certified & an FAA repair station and its talented employees have the experience and capabilities to provide you with the heat treating steel solutions you are looking for. Please call Byron today with any questions.
Hayes Heat Treating Corp.Cranston, RI 401-467-5201 For excellent solutions in heat treating steel, turn to the good people at Hayes today! Hayes provides on-time delivery utilizing a professional courier service, onsite audits, site inspections, in addition to many more quality services. Hayes serves a wide spectrum of customers, many of which are in the aerospace, automotive, electronic, medical and machine tool industries.
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Heat Treating Steel
Heat treating is an energy-intensive process that changes this atomic structure, thereby also changing its mechanical behavior. Although many metals go through the process, steel is the most commonly heat-treated metal. Other popular metals include aluminum and stainless steel. Several critical techniques are used in the steel heat treating process, including annealing, quenching, case hardening, precipitation strengthening, and tempering. Annealing is a process by which steel is heated and then cooled very slowly, leaving the soft, ductile metal. Quenching refers to the rapid cooling of steel that can be used to increase the metal's strength. Tempering is also performed to strengthen steel; in tempering, the metal is heated to extreme heat, between 400 and 600 degrees Celsius, and maintained at this temperature until the carbon diffuses to produce bainite or pearlite. Case hardening is accomplished by combining the ductility of low carbon materials with the strength of high carbon through the creation of a tough outer coating which surrounds a softer more malleable core. Precipitation strengthening is a process that increases the yield strength of the metal, this can also be referred to as age hardening.
Heat treating steel can improve the metals hardness and ductility. It can also improve the metals tensile, impact and yield strength. Many different kinds of equipment are used in the heat treating process. Some of these tools include furnaces, torches, salt bathes, heating blankets and lasers. Due to the fact that many of the products are custom and specialty made, there is no one correct way of heat treating metals. There is always a high demand for the products though. Heat treating is used to make a variety of steel goods used in the automotive, air transport, construction, manufacturing, and tool and die industries. Some examples of heat-treated steel goods include knives, swords, gears, medical equipment, valves, drive shafts, ventilation systems and bearings.
