What is Annealing?

Components can become highly stressed and hardened through some forming operations. In these cases, “softening” operations can be carried out.

The primary purpose of annealing is to reduce the hardness of a material for subsequent machining. Annealing can be carried out at a variety of temperatures. A controlled temperature and controlled or slow cooling is also often necessary to ensure the correct material structure.

The Benefits of Annealing

In steels and nodular irons it increases ductility and results in a controlled microstructure. Annealing can be applied to iron castings which exhibit chill.

What Materials can be Successfully Annealed?

All metallic materials can be successfully annealed, including ferrous and non-ferrous materials.