We continue David Pye's blog series on the causes and effects of distortion. Part 2 can be found here.

We continue David Pye's blog series on the causes and effects of distortion.

As every heat treater – captive or commercial – knows, distortion will occur. The heat treater must recognize the many reasons why distortion occurs. This applies to both ferrous and nonferrous materials.

I have often addressed the effects of induced mechanical stresses in the metal and the ways that those stresses affect the dimensional movement when the metal is subjected to thermal conditions (hot or cold). The question is often asked: How long does it take to remove the induced mechanical stresses caused by physical mechanical conditions being applied to the metal (e.g., machining stresses)?

Most heat treaters have been told by in-house customers, as well as external customers, that we need to have the component “heat treated without distortion.” That is essentially an impossibility.

Editor’s note: The following is an edited (for length) transcription of an interview between SECO/WARWICK’s Tom Hart and Dan Herring, The Heat Treat Doctor. It was part of the company’s E-Seminar held in September 2020.

Dan Kay answers a reader question about post-brazing distortion.

We often look to sophisticated tools for answers, but there is a simple, yet highly effective, method for quantifying our furnace’s performance – the Navy C-ring test.

The rolling and thermal treatment of forged rings sometimes leaves residual stresses that cause dimensional distortion.

The problem of retained austenite is twofold.