Reduce Distortion in Alloy Grades of Steel
ThermTech is proud to offer marquench hardening for forgings, gears, investment castings, and machined parts. Marquenching is usually used for higher alloy grades of steel that are prone to excessive distortion or cracking. Instead of lower temperature oil or polymer, components are quenched in hot molten salt, which greatly reduces the risk of distortion and cracking while still providing an equivalent microstructure on many part types.
Marquench Hardening Capability & Process
ThermTech uses two primary ways to perform marquench hardening:
1. Atmosphere Furnace-to-Salt:
Parts are heated (austenitized) in a batch atmosphere furnace from 1500-1600F. Then they are automatically transferred to the molten salt quench, which is set anywhere from 375F to 500F depending on the steel grade. Parts are then tempered down to the specified hardness range. The maximum capacity for this operation is 36”W x 72”L x 48”H with a maximum weight of 7000 lbs.
2. Salt-to-Salt:
Parts are austenitized in a high-heat salt bath, then transferred into another lower temperature bath for the quench. This process can be even more beneficial for products with distortion issues since parts spend less time at the high heat temperature. The maximum dimensions for this process are 20”OD x 30”H.
Marquenching Recommendations from Thermtech
ThermTech offers marquenching for many alloy grades, and not necessarily just higher alloy steels. Most commonly, the following are performed:
Please Note: Once parts reach a certain thickness, equivalent core properties to oil or polymer quenching may no longer be achievable with marquench hardening. This is because the thermal driving force (to provide adequate quench rates in the core of thicker parts) is less during the high heat salt quench used in marquenching.
Marquenching Applications
For components that are extremely prone to distortion or cracking, an austempering process may be the best option. Austempering is also ideal for producing superior ductility properties in parts of all geometries.
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