Alloy Steel Heat Treating Services
The following are guidelines for the heat treatment of FLEXOR®. It is important to keep in mind that heat treatment facilities are likely to vary in their capabilities. When specifying the mechanical properties it is always best to call out the Rockwell "C" hardness as the defining requirement rather than draw temperature. Many techniques are compatible with FLEXOR® that will help to yield maximum properties. Please consult a Pennsylvania Steel representative to help insure you receive an optimal heat treatment process to help insure you receive the maximum properties FLEXOR® has to offer.
Steel Heat Treatment Guidelines
Through Hardening
Austenitize: 1500 -1600°F (815 - 871°C), 30 minutes per inch of thickness, oil quench. (note: speed of quenchant, amount of agitation, and handling process may contribute to variance in hardening).
Temper: 350 - 1200°F (176°- 649°C) FLEXOR® is primarily used with draw temperatures between 400 - 1200°F (49 - 30 HRC).
Note: It is also possible to quench in brine or water. However, this should only be done on certain applications. Quenching in water should only be done from an austenitizing temperature of 1500°F. Part geometry and section size are also key variables.
Normalizing and Stress Relieving
Normalize: 1700°F (927°C) air cool - do not slow cool. Typical normalizing will achieve a resultant hardness of 25-32 HRC.
Stress Relieve: Post Hardened 100°F - 50°F(55-30C) below original tempering temperature. Once part is at temperature hold for 2 hours. Air cool.
Carburize and Harden
Carburize: Gas or #1 Salts from 1650 - 1700°F (899 - 927°C) Carburizing is typically done at 1650°F with time dependent upon required case depth. FLEXOR® can be carburized to a variety of case depths. Most common are .010-.015", .030", and .060". Case depths up to .120" can also be achieved. Once the desired case depth is achieved the part should be brought down to the appropriate austenitizing temperature for hardening (see Through Hardening). Do not water quench a carburized part - quench in oil or salts only.
| Good Wear | Excellent Wear | Maximum Wear |
|---|---|---|
| HRC 53-56 Case | HRC 56-60 Case | HRC 60-62 Case |
| HRC 42-46 Core | HRC 46-49 Core | HRC 49-52 Core |
Note: If excellent wear is your only objective, then the following under hardening technique is recommended. This is often used where ease in straightening and distortion is of primary concern.
Carburize (gas) all sections from 1650 - 1700°F (899 - 927°C)
Harden from 1475 - 1600°F (801 -871°C)
Oil Quench
Temper
Important! - Do not torch straighten a carburized section. Welding carburized sections should be avoided.
Nitride
FLEXOR® is compatible with both gas and ion nitriding processes. Gas nitriding is typically done between 950 - 1000°F (510 - 538°C). Case depth is dependent upon furnace time. FLEXOR® will typically hold a core hardness up to 41 HRC through the nitriding process. Typical distortion is less than .001". FLEXOR® is also compatible with Ferritic Nitrocarburized and Carbonitrided.
Flame Harden
Standard flame hardening techniques should be applied. In all cases FLEXOR® must be tempered after hardening. A test coupon should be used to check case depth.
| Tough - Light Wear | High Load - Medium Wear | High Load - High Wear |
|---|---|---|
| HRC 46-49 Case | HRC 51-54 Case | HRC 54-57 Case |
Induction Harden
Standard induction hardening techniques should be applied. In all cases FLEXOR® must be tempered after hardening. A test coupon should be used to check case depth.
Induction hardening usually provides more consistent case depth than flame hardening though both are compatible with FLEXOR® chemistry.
| Tough - Light Wear | High Load - Medium Wear | High Load - High Wear |
|---|---|---|
| HRC 46-49 Case | HRC 51-54 Case | HRC 54-57 Case |
Annealing
Anneal: 1450-1550°F (788- 843°C) - slow cool. Most FLEXOR® is supplied in the as rolled or forged condition (normalized). Typically this will yield a hardness between 25 - 32 HRC.
Important! FLEXOR® does not require annealing prior to hardening from the normalized or "as rolled" condition.
FLEXOR Colors of Hardening Heats
| Color of Heats | Red - Visible in the Dark | Red - Visible in the Twilight | Red - Visible in the Daylight | Red - Visible in the Sunlight | Dull Red | Turning to Cherry | Cherry Proper | Bright Cherry Red | Orange Red | Orange Yellow | White |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| °F | 752 | 885 | 975 | 1077 | 1292 | 1472 | 1652 | 1832 | 2012 | 2192 | 2372 |
| °C | 400 | 474 | 525 | 581 | 700 | 800 | 900 | 1000 | 1100 | 1200 | 1300 |
FLEXOR Colors of Tempering Heats
| Temperature held for 1 hr | Color of Oxides | Faint Yellow | Light Straw | Dark Straw | Brown | Purple | Dark Blue | Light Blue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| °F | 370 | 390 | 410 | 430 | 450 | 490 | 510 | |
| °C | 188 | 199 | 210 | 221 | 232 | 254 | 265 |
| Temperature held for 8 min | Color of Oxides | Faint Yellow | Light Straw | Dark Straw | Brown | Purple | Dark Blue | Light Blue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| °F | 460 | 510 | 560 | 610 | 640 | 660 | 710 | |
| °C | 238 | 265 | 293 | 321 | 337 | 349 | 376 |
Contact Pennsylvania Steel Corporation today to learn more about the heat treatment FLEXOR®.
Testimonials
"At Powerhold we use FLEXOR® exclusively on all our special design work-holding Diaphragms. The performance and machining quality of FLEXOR® is superior to anything we have utilized in the past.
Today’s customer demands a quality product that performs consistently...FLEXOR® enables us to meet that goal every day."
Testimonials
"Just wanted to take a minute to say thanks. I always receive my orders on time and without any complications. I appreciate you keeping me so up to date on the order process through email, and the way the steel is cut and packaged so carefully. Using your Product (FLEXOR®) has increased standard tool life by as much as 25%-30%. Thank you again for all you hard work. I look forward to business with you again and again, it's always a pleasure!"
Testimonials
"Pennyslvania Steel Corporation has been a valued supplier for our company going on two decades. FLEXOR®'S versatility and reliability have been extremely helpful to the products we manufacture. Due to to FLEXOR®'S versatility at various hardness' we are able to use it at 28-32 HRC, 28-32 HRC and nitrided, or through hardened anywhere between 42 and 50 HRC. In our experience FLEXOR® has superior machinability to other comparable steel grades especially in higher hardness'. We machine FLEXOR® at 40 HRC and find this to be a key benefit to our manufacturing process."