subject: The Timeless Process Of Heat Treatment [print this page] The rapid advances in technology are bringing about changes that our forefathers couldnt even have imagined in their wildest dreams. The first basic thing that humans needed when they started evolving was weapons to hunt for wood. These weapons were initially made out of woods and bones but with the discovery of metal, they became much more sophisticated. Blacksmiths started giving shapes to different kinds of metals for not just weapons but various other products too. The main process involved was heating the metal so that it could be twisted to the desired shape and size. Today, we live in much more advanced times but the basic fundamental in metal products still remains the same heat.
Heat treatment has become a very advanced science today and various innovations have taken place within this industry. To put in simple words it is a process by which physical or chemical properties of a metal are altered. This may or may not bring about a change in the shape of the product. The basic thought behind the treatment is to strengthen the material and optimize its properties. In all kinds of manufacturing processes involving metals it sometimes becomes necessary to change the properties of that metal. The reason could be to make it more robust or to make it more suitable for a specific purpose. There are times when there are four to five different stages of heat process involved especially in complicated procedures used in industries like aerospace and defence. In fact all the modern weapon manufacturing industries constantly need to optimize the properties of the metals being used especially in artilleries. These kinds of heat procedures are also very common in the glass and steel industry.
Heat treatment is broadly used to either, soften, harden or bring about a material modification in the product. Annealing is the most common technique of softening. It is used in industries where a large amount of cooling down work is performed and helps in making the material softer and improves ductility. The most popular technique of hardening is quenching and tempering. In this, the metal is heated at extremely high temperatures and then cooled down at very low temperatures. This brings about an increase in the molecular strength and toughens the product.
Different manufacturers use different methods of heat and there is no one single way to go about it. Also it is not only used on raw materials. Sometimes it becomes necessary to use this method on finished products too.
by: James
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
