Normalizing / Annealing / Stress Relieving

Normalizing

Normalizing (atmosphere and non-atmosphere) is heating a ferrous alloy to a suitable temperature above the transformation range and then cooling in air to a temperature substantially below the transformation range.

Annealing

Annealing is a generic term denoting a treatment consisting of heating to and holding at a suitable temperature followed by cooling at a suitable rate, used primarily to soften metallic materials, but also to simultaneously produce desired changes in other properties or in microstructure. The purpose is, but not restricted to. improvement of machinability, facilitation of cold work, improvement of mechanical or electrical properties, and/or increase in stability of dimensions.

Normalizing/Annealing Processes: Batch

Stress Relieving

Stress relieving is heating to a suitable temperature, holding long enough to reduce residual stresses, and then cooling slowly enough to minimize the development of new residual stresses.

Stress Relieving Processes: Batch (up to 8′ x 8′ x7′) and continuous