When performing hard chrome plating, welding, machining, or other types of metalwork, heat treatment is often necessary for a strong, durable finished product. The manufacturing process can create distortions in the metal, which can, in turn, lead to weaknesses, but heat treatment relieves the internal structural vulnerabilities and essentially restores the strength of the metal. Below, find out how this procedure works, its importance, and what materials can most benefit from it.

How Does It Work?

Stress relief is a type of heat treatment performed post-weld. First, the metal is heated to a certain temperature, depending on the type of metal and its thickness; for instance, carbon steel holds a temperature between 1100- and 1250-degrees Fahrenheit for one hour per inch of thickness. It is held at this temperature until stresses in the metal are minimized or eliminated. Finally, it is cooled slowly so that the stresses do not return.

What Is the Importance?

Distortion most often happens because of fast and imbalanced heating and cooling of the weld metal and surrounding base metal. When the weld metal cools, it contracts at a different rate than the base metal, causing distortion and a loss of dimensional tolerance. 

Stress relief heat treatment prevents or reduces the chances of this happening, so the product won't be as susceptible to further dimensional changes during any subsequent manufacturing processes or in the final usage of the product.

What Materials Benefit From Heat Treatment?

Not every metal needs stress relief in hard chrome plating applications. For example, lower carbon steels, in general, don't require stress relief since they aren't as hard as other carbon steels and, so, are less vulnerable to distortion. 

High carbon alloys, on the other hand, often must relieve stress via heat treatment. Also, metals that have tight dimensional tolerances and are going to undergo additional processing must be stress relieved.

R.A. Heller Co. is a leader in the hard chrome plating industry due to their mastery of the stress relief heat treatment process. Since 1946, they have been serving Cincinnati, OH, and the surrounding region. In addition to hard chrome plating, this skilled machine shop provides precision grinding and piston rod repair services. Call (513) 771-6100 or visit them online to request a quote.