Services offered are listed below:

Listed below is only a sampling of the services offered. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your particular heat treating need. We will gladly assist you to the best of our ability.

(704)864-0998, (800)664-0098, fax (704)864-1780 email: jfht2@aol.com

                   Furnace Hardening:

Atmosphere Controlled Super Allcase batch furnaces, internal quench used for various heat treating operations. These furnaces are designed for through hardening and carburizing, carbonitriding, annealing, normalizing and other processed. This aid in the prevention of  oxidation and scaling to produce a superior hardness and surface finish.

Normalizing:
   Normalizing is the process of raising the temperature to over 60°C (140°F), above line A3 or line ACM fully into the Austenite range. It is held at this temperature to fully convert the structure into Austenite, and then removed form the furnace and cooled at room temperature under natural convection. This results in a grain structure of fine Pearlite with excess of Ferrite or Cementite. The resulting material is soft; the degree of softness depends on the actual ambient conditions of cooling. This process is considerably cheaper than full annealing since there is not the added cost of controlled furnace cooling.
   The main difference between full annealing and normalizing is that fully annealed parts are uniform in softness (and machinablilty) throughout the entire part; since the entire part is exposed to the controlled furnace cooling. In the case of the normalized part, depending on the part geometry, the cooling is non-uniform resulting in non-uniform material properties across the part. This may not be desirable if further machining is desired, since it makes the machining job somewhat unpredictable. In such a case it is better to do full annealing.

Process Annealing:
   Process Annealing is used to treat work-hardened parts made out of low-Carbon steels (< 0.25% Carbon). This allows the parts to be soft enough to undergo further cold working without fracturing. Process annealing is done by raising the temperature to just below the Ferrite-Austenite region, line A1on the diagram. This temperature is about 727°C (1341°F) so heating it to about 700°C (1292°F) should suffice. This is held long enough to allow recrystallization of the ferrite phase, and then cooled in still air. Since the material stays in the same phase through out the process, the only change that occurs is the size, shape and distribution of the grain structure. This process is cheaper than either full annealing or normalizing since the material is not heated to a very high temperature or cooled in a furnace.

Stress Relief Annealing:
   Stress Relief Anneal is used to reduce residual stresses in large castings, welded parts and cold-formed parts. Such parts tend to have stresses due to thermal cycling or work hardening. Parts are heated to temperatures of up to 600 - 650°C (1112 - 1202°F), and held for an extended time (about 1 hour or more) and then slowly cooled in still air.

                  Selective Hardening 

Flame Hardening:
   A high intensity oxy-acetylene flame is applied to the selective region. The temperature is raised high enough to be in the region of Austenite transformation. The "right" temperature is determined by the operator based on experience by watching the color of the steel. The overall heat transfer is limited by the torch and thus the interior never reaches the high temperature. The heated region is quenched to achieve the desired hardness. Tempering can be done to eliminate brittleness.
The depth of hardening can be increased by increasing the heating time. As much as 6.3 mm (0.25 in) of depth can be achieved. In addition, large parts, which will not normally fit in a furnace, can be heat-treated. 

Induction Hardening:
    In Induction hardening, the steel part is placed inside a electrical coil which has alternating current through it. This energizes the steel part and heats it up. Depending on the frequency and amperage, the rate of heating as well as the depth of heating can be controlled. Hence, this is well suited for surface heat treatment. The heated region is quenched to achieve the desired hardness. Tempering can be done to eliminate brittleness.

             Additional Services

 Shot blasting and wheelabrating cleaning services available         800-664-0098

The blast media is a steel G48 grit to aid in deburring and give a mat finish similar to sandblasting.