Austempering
STEEL COMPONENTS
Austempering Heat Treatment for Superior Ductility in Steel Components
Austempering is a process for steel components which yields a bainitic microstructure. Compared to a standard quench and temper process, the austempering forging heat treatment is superior in terms of ductility and distortion.
Advantages of the Austempering Process:
Austempering is a two-step process which yields a tough and strong bainitic microstructure.
If you have a steel component that has been problematic with respect to distortion in heat treating, austempering may be an option to eliminate this problem!
Recommendations for Austempering Applications
Long slender parts or steel components that are thin in the cross section are excellent candidates for austempering. Another excellent application for the austempering process are parts that are sensitive to quench cracking due to material or design.
Typical steels that are austempered include:
CASTINGS
Austempering Ductile Iron (ADI) - Best for Castings
Austempering Ductile Iron is a heat-treating process that can be applied to ductile iron castings. The resulting product is referred to as Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI). It provides superior mechanical properties relative to conventional heat-treating processes for cast iron. In certain applications, austempered castings feature superior strength-to-weight ratio when compared to steel parts.
ASTM A897/897M provides information about the ADI process and mechanical testing requirements.
The Austempering Ductile Iron Process
Chemistry: When it comes to chemistry, if section size increases, then specific alloying elements must also be increased to achieve desired properties.
Foundries: Pearlite rating, nodule count, and nodularity rating are critical factors the foundry must control in order to maximize the end properties of austempered castings.
Recommendations for Austempering Alloys
If you are in the alloy consideration stage, it may be beneficial to receive support from our metallurgical staff. We recommend obtaining recommendations prior to the quoting process to ensure you have a full understanding of material options and costs. Our process development team will read and interpret the specifications you provide to certify that the final product will meet the necessary requirements.
ThermTech – Experts in Austempering Stampings, Machined Parts and Investment Castings
Between our neutral salt bath furnaces and our larger austempering furnaces, we have the capabilities to austemper a wide variety of stamping, machined components and investment castings. We have run austempering on alloys from 1060 through 4340 to ductile iron machined parts.
ThermTech offers both small and large batch capabilities for austempering steel and iron investment castings.
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