Tempering
Glossary · Materials & Heat Treatment
At a glance
- Category /
- Materials & Heat Treatment
- Related /
- 2 terms
- Source /
- Written in the shop
Tempering is reheating quenched steel to a lower temperature to reduce brittleness and internal stress, trading a little hardness for toughness.
In practice
The tempering temperature sets the final balance. Higher temperature means softer and tougher. "Quenched and tempered" — the Q&T in 4140 Q&T — describes material that has been through both stages.
Why it matters
An untempered quenched part is a liability. It may be at full hardness and still crack in service under a shock load, because nothing removed the internal stress the quench created.
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