2090 – 08 – The Process of Annealing

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Steel can be heat-treated to make pearlite, bainite, or martensite depending on the job. Annealing is one way that manufacturers control the temperature of the metal. It heats steel up to a specific temperature and maintains it that temperature for the appropriate amount of time. Then, the steel is cooled until the desired process is finished.
Soaking is the process of keeping a metal’s temperature at an elevated temperature. Usually, steel is kept in a furnace and allowed to cool off for at least a day.
A metal is annealed for a many different reasons. It can soften the metal and remedy brittleness, cause greater efficiency in machinability, and get rid of stress that can be present due to cold working. Considering annealing a metal keeps it at a steady temperature for an extended period of time, it creates a solid structure of course pearlite all through the metal.