During the manufacturing process of a product, metal materials will go through a series of processes. The metal may be forged, cast, bent, turned, milled, ground, drilled, welded or otherwise machined. With so many tools and fixtures applying pressure to the metal parts, different types of stress may occur.
Parts may become more brittle, soft, and even magnetic. These issues are due to changes in the small grains (also called crystallites) in the metal.
Metals possess grain structures that grow during heating and cooling. The areas between the crystals are the grain structure. As the metal is processed, it changes the grain structure and causes crystallites to move beyound boundaries, elongate and dislocate.
As the grain structures move around, the processed metal may acquire certain properties or undesired effects. One effect is that the metal experiences a large amount of stress to the point where it hardens. The metal can harden so much that it cannot undergo any more machining processes as cracks, breaks, or other defects appear.
Stress Relief
Stress relief is a heat treatment process that helps relieve the internal stresses that arise in metals as they are machined, cast, rolled or forged. It usually involves placing the metal at a set temperature for a period of time. The metal is then cooled using a controlled method.
Stress relieving must be done carefully to remove the stresses without impacting the metal’s properties that should be kept for the part. This treatment can be done for both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. There are different types of stress relieving treatments. One such treatment is called annealing.
Annealing
Annealing uses heat to soften the metal when it is excessively hardened during casting, rolling or forging. The process helps soften the metal so it can be worked.
The annealing process uses heat to make the metal softer when it is hardened too much during casting, rolling or forging. The process helps soften the metal so it can be machined.
The annealing process works by heating the metal to a very high temperature and holding it at that temperature for a period of time. As the metal is heated, the old grain structure is eliminated and new grains recrystallize and grow. The metal becomes softer and more ductile as it loses some of its hardness.
The temperature must be precisely controlled so that the grains inside the metal do not become too large in the process. The temperature setting used will depend on the metal and how it reacts to heat. The length of time must also be considered for metal parts.
For more information on stress relief annealing and other machining of parts, please contact Janice.
Dongguan Yejia Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. has CNC large-scale gantry machining centers, CNC machining centers, precision CNC milling machines, lathes, large surface grinders, precision shape correction machines, CMM three-coordinate measuring machines, electronic altimeter and other advanced manufacturing and testing equipment more than 90 sets.The maximum size that can be processed is 5000×3200×1000mm, and the machining accuracy can reach 0.002.
Welcome to contact Janice for more information: sales2@yejiavi.com / +86-13326893009 .
The annealing process uses heat to make the metal softer when it is hardened too much during casting, rolling or forging. The process helps soften the metal so it can be machined.
The annealing process works by heating the metal to a very high temperature and holding it at that temperature for a period of time. As the metal is heated, the old grain structure is eliminated and new grains recrystallize and grow. The metal becomes softer and more ductile as it loses some of its hardness.
The temperature must be precisely controlled so that the grains inside the metal do not become too large in the process. The temperature setting used will depend on the metal and how it reacts to heat. The length of time must also be considered for metal parts.
For more information on stress relief annealing and other machining of parts, please contact Janice.
Dongguan Yejia Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. has CNC large-scale gantry machining centers, CNC machining centers, precision CNC milling machines, lathes, large surface grinders, precision shape correction machines, CMM three-coordinate measuring machines, electronic altimeter and other advanced manufacturing and testing equipment more than 90 sets.The maximum size that can be processed is 5000×3200×1000mm, and the machining accuracy can reach 0.002.
Welcome to contact Janice for more information: sales2@yejiavi.com / +86-13326893009 .
