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An alloy is made of two or more elements, at least one of which must be a metal. The combined substance exhibits metallic properties.

This is a heat treating process used for ferrous metals. Its purpose is to increase hardness, impact resistance and fatigue strength. It also reduces part distortion. The process involves heating the part sufficiently to an austenitic phase where the microstructure is changed. It is then cooled rapidly to a point just above the martensitic start temperature, in order to avoid the pearlite phase. In steel, for example, the desired microstructure is bainite.

As its name implies, this heat process is used to remove gas from a metal.

This process is utilized on certain ferrous materials in order to achieve uniform magnetic properties. It requires particular attention to temperature control so that the magnetic properties are not lost.

Martempering seeks to avoid the formation of bainite, pearlite and ferrite. Here the heat treatment transforms the metal from an austenitic phase to a martensitic phase, which is quickly followed by step quenching, usually in a salt bath. This step quenching reduces the thermal stresses usually associated with typical quenching processes, which will help to prevent cracking and minimize distortion.

This is a compound produced from the reaction of metal to oxygen. It allows a thin oxide coat to form which can protect the metal.

During nitriding, nitrogen is diffused in a gas mixture into the surface of a metal. Its purpose is to increase surface strength. The nitriding potential is a calculation used to determine the probability of creating nitrogen layers of a determined structure. A higher potential generally results in richer nitrogen phases.

This involves aging the material at a higher temperature, for a longer time, or both. It results in loss of coherency, strength and hardness.

When a gas (or gases) is introduced into a heat treatment vacuum furnace, partial pressure refers to the force exerted by the gas which is constrained in the vacuum vessel. We introduce an inert gas at a controlled rate to set a partial pressure range which is then maintained during the heating cycle.

We heat an alloy and then hold it at a suitable temperature until one, or more, of the constituent components enters a solid solution stage. At this point the solution is then cooled rapidly to hold the alloy in a condition which retains the solution’s properties.

This is a steel temper process which is used to increase the upper limit of elasticity. It is obtained by hardening and tempering the steel and then reheating it until the steel turns blue.

In order to prevent unwanted hardening in certain locations during the heating process, we apply a physical barrier to selected areas of the metal material before treatment. This barrier might consist of a specialized paint or copper plate.

This heat treatment process, typically in the range of 1300-1400° F, is used to produce a softened condition with less microstructural refinement than full annealing. It improves material ductility for subsequent cold-working or forming operations.

The gas pressure which is exerted when a substance is in equilibrium with its own vapor. It is a function of both the substance itself and the temperature.