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How Heat Treatment Works

Heat Treatment: the route, the tolerances it holds, materials and design tips, with an indicative cost. One of 56 processes in the free finder.

SurfaceFamily
5Route steps
38Parts in finder

Heat treatment changes a metal's properties by controlled heating and cooling, hardening, tempering, annealing or case-hardening the part.

At a glance

When to use it, and when not

Best for

Setting hardness, strength and wear resistance on steels and alloys after shaping.

Watch for

Distortion and scale; it is a property step, not a shaping step, and needs allowance for finishing.

Step by step

The typical route

Raw material to finished part. Steps vary with material, volume and tolerance; this is the free route from the finder.

  1. Clean

    Clean parts before the furnace.
    Tooling -   Tolerance -   Lead -

  2. Austenitise

    Heat to the process temperature.
    Tooling Furnace   Tolerance -   Lead -

  3. Quench

    Quench to harden.
    Tooling -   Tolerance -   Lead -

  4. Temper

    Temper to the target hardness.
    Tooling Furnace   Tolerance -   Lead -

  5. Check

    Hardness test and check distortion.
    Tooling -   Tolerance -   Lead -
Materials

Materials it suits

GradeWhy it suits this
(hardenable steels)Carbon >=0.3% or alloy
Design

Design tips

A few general pointers for Heat Treatment. The full, part-specific DFM list is in the dossier.

  • Sharp corners (crack/quench risk). Add radii.
  • Tight tolerance before heat-treat. Finish-grind after.
Cost

What it costs

A secondary op costed per part/batch; raises hardness/strength. Budget for distortion and post-grinding.

PER-PART COST vs VOLUME
one-offat volumeVolume per order, low to highCost per part
Per-part cost drops as volume spreads tooling and setup over more parts. The exact figures for your part at your volume, in your currency, are in the dossier.
MODEL EST.
$5.9 to 10 per part at 1 off
A rough ballpark only. The dossier gives should-cost at your exact volume and currency, with the full breakdown.
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Everything you need to quote and source it

The free route above is yours. To actually put a number on this process and buy it well:

  • Should-cost at your exact volume in 12 currencies, with the material, processing, tooling and overhead breakdown
  • Who to source from, typical MOQ and lead time, and the exact RFQ checklist to send
  • A quote checker that tells you if a supplier quote is fair, and the red flags to watch
  • The full DFM list and a ready-to-send RFQ draft
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Examples

Parts made by Heat Treatment

38 parts in the finder use Heat Treatment as their primary process. A sample, each with its own guide:

annealanneal copperannealed partannealed tubeannealed wirecarburized pincase hardencase hardeneddie hardeninghardened bladehardened gearhardened shaftheat treatnitrided borequenchquenched diesoftenspring steelstrengthenstress relieftempertempered spring
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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How is a part made by Heat Treatment?
Heat treatment changes a metal's properties by controlled heating and cooling, hardening, tempering, annealing or case-hardening the part. The typical route is: Clean; Austenitise; Quench; Temper; Check. Setting hardness, strength and wear resistance on steels and alloys after shaping.
What does Heat Treatment cost per part?
It depends on size, tolerance and volume. As a rough ballpark it starts around $5.9 to 10 per part at low volume and falls with quantity. The dossier gives should-cost at your exact volume and currency. Model estimates, not quotes.
What tolerance can Heat Treatment hold?
It depends on the feature and the finishing operations used.
What materials suit Heat Treatment?
Common choices are (hardenable steels) (Carbon >=0.3% or alloy).
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