In the manufacturing industry, many methods are used to alter the physical properties of certain materials; heat treatment is one of these methods. This process is incredibly beneficial as it gives manufacturers the opportunity to change materials in ways that are suitable for the creation of multiple products. Read more about het treatment and its applications below:
What is it?
Heat treatment is not just one process, it is multiple processes that can be used to alter the physical properties of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. These heat treatment processes include annealing, hardening, tempering, stress relieving and normalising. These methods all use different techniques of heating and cooling in order to get the desired metal quality. Some are performed to soften and harden the materials while others are performed to reduce brittleness and relieve stress within the materials that has formed due to other industrial processes such as rolling.
The applications
Heat treatment can be used in many different applications, though it is commonly used in metallurgical applications. These processes can be used in the creation of various metal parts such as springs, beams and more. However, metal isn’t the only material that undergoes heat treatment. Heat treatment is also used in applications such as glass manufacturing in order to strengthen the products. Additionally, a recent heat treatment application that is growing in popularity is that of wood heat treatment. This is used to rid the wood of pests and can also be used to alter the properties of the wood.