Okuzeka
Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Manufacturing Processes

Heat treatment

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In mechanical engineering, heat treatment means: Heating and cooling a metal part in a controlled way to change properties such as hardness, strength or ductility. Annealing, hardening and tempering are examples.

In Turkish: ısıl işlem

How it is used

Used on drawings, in specifications and with heat treatment suppliers. Common processes are annealing, normalizing, quenching and tempering, case hardening and stress relieving. The drawing usually states the process and the required hardness.

Example sentences

  1. After heat treatment, the gears are ground to their final size.

  2. The parts cracked during heat treatment because of the sharp internal corners.

Common collocations

  • heat treatment process
  • after heat treatment
  • quenching and tempering
  • case hardening
  • stress relieving
  • hardnessHow well a material resists being scratched, dented or worn at its surface. It is measured with tests such as Rockwell (HRC), Brinell (HB) or Vickers (HV).
  • alloyA metal made by mixing a base metal with other elements to improve properties such as strength, hardness or corrosion resistance. Steel and brass are alloys.
  • ductileAble to stretch and bend a lot before breaking. Most steels, copper and aluminum are ductile; glass and gray cast iron are not.
  • weldingJoining metal parts permanently by melting them at the joint, often with a filler metal, so that they become one piece when they cool.
  • castingMaking a part by pouring molten metal into a mold and letting it harden. The word also means a part made in this way.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Manufacturing Processes

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: