Professional heat treatment services to enhance material properties, improve strength, hardness, and optimize performance for your critical components.
Heat treatment is a controlled heating and cooling process that alters the microstructure of metals to achieve specific mechanical properties. By carefully controlling temperature, time, and cooling rates, we can significantly improve hardness, strength, ductility, and resistance to wear.
Why Heat Treat?
Enhance strength, hardness, and durability beyond base material properties
When to Use?
Critical load-bearing parts, wear surfaces, aerospace components
Industry Standard
AMS, ASTM, and aerospace specification compliant
Purpose:
Standard as-machined condition with stress relief
Process:
Room temp / Pre-annealed
Resulting Hardness: Base material hardness
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: All materials - default state
Purpose:
Softens material for improved machinability and stress relief
Process:
Variable by material
Resulting Hardness: Reduced hardness, increased ductility
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: All ferrous and non-ferrous metals
Purpose:
Refines grain structure and improves mechanical properties
Process:
Above Ac3 + air cool
Resulting Hardness: Uniform microstructure, improved strength
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Carbon and low-alloy steels
Purpose:
Maximize hardness for wear resistance and strength
Process:
Quench from austenite
Resulting Hardness: Maximum hardness (50-65 HRC)
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Tool steels, carbon steels
Purpose:
Reduces brittleness after hardening, adjusts hardness level
Process:
150-650°C for 1-2 hours
Resulting Hardness: 40-60 HRC (adjustable)
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Hardened steels
Purpose:
Creates hard surface layer while maintaining tough core
Process:
900-950°C in carbon atmosphere
Resulting Hardness: Surface: 58-62 HRC, Core: soft
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Low carbon steels
Purpose:
Creates extremely hard surface layer without quenching
Process:
500-525°C in nitrogen atmosphere
Resulting Hardness: Surface hardness up to 70 HRC
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Alloy steels, stainless steels
Purpose:
Adds carbon to surface for hard wear-resistant case
Process:
900-950°C in carbon atmosphere
Resulting Hardness: Hard case (58-62 HRC) with tough core
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Low carbon steels
Purpose:
Removes residual stresses from machining without affecting hardness
Process:
200-650°C for 1-2 hours
Resulting Hardness: No change to hardness
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: All materials post-machining
Purpose:
Dissolves precipitates for subsequent aging
Process:
500-540°C + water quench
Resulting Hardness: Prepares for T6 temper
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Aluminum alloys (6000, 7000 series)
Purpose:
Age hardening for aluminum and stainless steels
Process:
Variable by alloy
Resulting Hardness: 30-40 HRC (varies by alloy)
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: 17-4 PH, 15-5 PH, Aluminum alloys
Purpose:
Deep freezing for enhanced properties and stress relief
Process:
-190°C (liquid nitrogen)
Resulting Hardness: Slight hardness increase
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Tool steels, high-performance alloys
Purpose:
Full hardness throughout the part for tool applications
Process:
Quench from austenite
Resulting Hardness: 50-65 HRC throughout
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Tool steels, high carbon steels
Purpose:
Precipitation hardening for maximum strength
Process:
510°C (950°F) for 4 hours
Resulting Hardness: 32-36 HRC
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: 17-4 PH, 15-5 PH, 13-8 Mo Stainless Steel
Purpose:
Balanced strength and ductility
Process:
538°C (1000°F) for 4 hours
Resulting Hardness: 30-34 HRC
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: 17-4 PH, 15-5 PH Stainless Steel
Purpose:
Enhanced toughness with moderate hardness
Process:
566°C (1050°F) for 4 hours
Resulting Hardness: 28-32 HRC
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: 17-4 PH, 15-5 PH Stainless Steel
Purpose:
Maximum ductility and formability
Process:
621°C (1150°F) for 4 hours
Resulting Hardness: 24-28 HRC
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: 17-4 PH, 15-5 PH Stainless Steel
Purpose:
Solution treatment and aging for titanium alloys
Process:
900°C solution + 540°C aging
Resulting Hardness: 33-39 HRC
Benefits:
Applicable Materials: Titanium Ti6Al4V (Grade 5)
Price Guide: £ = Budget-friendly | ££ = Moderate | £££ = Premium | ££££ = Specialist
| Treatment | Hardness Effect | Toughness | Lead Time | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None (Annealed) | Base level | Good | No delay | Standard parts, prototypes |
| Annealing | Softens material | Excellent | 1-2 days | Improve machinability |
| Normalizing | Moderate increase | Good | 1-2 days | Structural steel components |
| Hardening | Maximum increase (50-65 HRC) | Low (brittle) | 2-3 days | Cutting tools, wear surfaces |
| Tempering | Controlled reduction | Very Good | 1-2 days | Post-hardening toughness |
| Case Hardening | Surface: 58-62 HRC | Core: Excellent | 2-3 days | Gears, shafts |
| Nitriding | Surface: up to 70 HRC | Core: Maintained | 3-4 days | High-wear components |
| Carburizing | Surface: 58-62 HRC | Core: Good | 2-3 days | Gears, bearings |
| Stress Relieving | No change | Slight increase | 1 day | Precision parts post-machining |
| Solution Treatment | Prepares for aging | Good | 1-2 days | Aluminum pre-aging |
| Precipitation Hardening | High (30-40 HRC) | Very Good | 2-3 days | Aerospace stainless/aluminum |
| Cryogenic Treatment | Slight increase | Good | 1-2 days | Tool steels, high-performance alloys |
| Through Hardening | Maximum increase (50-65 HRC) | Good | 2-3 days | Cutting tools, high-performance tools |
| H950 | Maximum increase (32-36 HRC) | Moderate | 2-3 days | Aerospace, high-stress parts |
| H1000 | High (30-34 HRC) | Good | 2-3 days | General purpose strength |
| H1050 | Moderate (28-32 HRC) | Very Good | 2-3 days | Parts needing ductility |
| H1150 | Lower (24-28 HRC) | Excellent | 2-3 days | Maximum formability needed |
| Titanium Treatment | High (33-39 HRC) | Excellent | 3-4 days | Aerospace titanium components |
17-4 PH Stainless Steel:
H950/H1000/H1050/H1150 conditions available. Most common aerospace stainless.
15-5 PH Stainless Steel:
Similar to 17-4 with higher toughness. All H-conditions available.
13-8 Mo Stainless Steel:
Ultra-high strength stainless for demanding aerospace applications.
Through Hardening:
Full hardness throughout the part for tool applications.
Tempering:
Reduces brittleness after hardening, adjusts hardness level.
Case Hardening:
Hard wear-resistant surface with tough, ductile core.
6061-T6 Aluminum:
Solution treatment + artificial aging for maximum strength.
7075-T6 Aluminum:
Precipitation hardening for highest aluminum strength.
Stress Relieving:
For all aluminum alloys to ensure dimensional stability.
Solution + Age (Ti6Al4V):
900°C solution + 540°C aging for maximum strength.
Stress Relief:
480-650°C for dimensional stability without property change.
Mill Annealed:
Starting condition for Grade 2 and Grade 5 titanium.
Quality Assurance: All heat treatments are performed by certified facilities with full traceability and test certificates available upon request.
Need help selecting the right heat treatment for your parts? Our metallurgy experts can recommend the best process to achieve your desired material properties, strength requirements, and performance specifications. Get FREE expert advice today.