What Are Heat Treatments?

If you are interested in metal fabrication and processing, you might want to know about heat treatment for metals. Here is some information about various heat treatments for metals, what they are, and how they can be highly useful in a project. 

What Is a Heat Treatment Metal Process?

Heat treatment for metal is a process that heats a metal item. However, the metal does not get heated to its melting point during this process. The person heating it only keeps it to a certain temperature and then stops.

Certain characteristics can be manipulated or changed when the item is brought to its melting point. After the metal gets taken almost to its melting point, it’s then cooled down using a different process.  

What Does Heat Treatment Do?

Companies use heat treatment on metals for a variety of reasons. These are some of the most typical reasons one might use such a treatment:

To Boost Electrical Properties

By heating a metal object, the item can experience greater electrical properties. The company can then use the metal in various applications that work with electrical components. 

To Fix Brittleness

Heat treatment can make metal a lot less brittle, making it more suitable for projects that require it to have a bit more strength. 

To Make It Wear Resistant

Heat treatment can create a wear-resistance in an item so that it can last longer for the customer who purchases it. Some manufacturers use heat treatments for that reason as well. 

To Strengthen It

A well-performed heat treatment can make a metal object generally stronger. Thus, some companies use it in their process of preparing metals to go to the clients. Clients can then use it in various applications. 

To Increase Malleability

Heat treatment can also make a metal object more malleable if a manufacturing company needs to bend it into other projects. There are many other reasons a company might use heat treatments on a metal object. 

How Does Heat Treatment Work?

Heat treatments go through three different stages. The first stage is to heat the metal object so that it reaches an ideal temperature. Typically, this temperature is not the metal object’s melting point. It is a certain temperature right before the boiling point. The heating process goes slowly to ensure that the metal does indeed reach the point of usefulness. 

The next stage of the process is holding the metal object at the correct temperature for a set amount of time. The last part of the procedure is the cooling stage. During this process, the person heating the metal will then cool it to room temperature so that it can be used as intended. 

NW Metal Fabricators, Inc. is an accredited company you can contact if you need heat treatment or something similar. They have been in business since 1986 and are a highly trustworthy organization. You can contact them today to ask questions and schedule a consultation for assistance with your metal project. 

Categorised in: Heat Treatment

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