There are a variety of different methods of heat treatment for different types of metals and alloys. While the specifics of the metal or alloy are always a factor, the choice of the process is also a matter of the application and the requirements for the properties of the part or component after the heat treating is completed.
One option is the use of an atmosphere heat treating process. This replaces the traditional type of heat treatment where the part is quenched and tempered by heating, quenching and then tempering to restore hardness and eliminated brittleness caused by the quenching process.
The Process
With the atmosphere heat treating process, the hardening process is done in a specialized system and without the presence of oxygen. Instead, during this process, humidity, carbon dioxide, and oxygen are limited through flushing the system with a specific type of gas. The gas used is most often nitrogen or argon, but hydrogen is also commonly selected, as is a combination of the inert gases.
Without the presence of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and moisture, the result is a tightly controlled process that produces uniformly bright, shiny and unmarred types of surfaces.
The Advantages
There are several critical advantages in atmosphere heat treating that makes it a perfect option for parts and components in the aerospace, automotive, medical and military and defense industries.
It is a lower cost process that can be done through automation using continuous types of feed. This allows for easy calibration of consistent, high-quality heating treating with extremely low variance. It is also the ideal option for large volume orders of smaller parts, allowing for fast, controlled processing with a very limited need for human handling of the process, further increasing the speed of the process while keeping costs low.
