What is aging?
Aging, also called artificial aging, refers to artificially accelerating the aging process in metals to achieve increased levels of hardness, tensile strength and/or an improved elastic limit (the maximum stress that a material will stand before it is permanently warped or deformed).

Products comprised of aged metals such as steel are:
• Longer-lasting
• Highly durable
• Able to withstand repeated pulling or stretching from external forces without losing integrity

While aging does occur naturally, it is not always cost-efficient or effective to allow the metal to do so in uncontrolled conditions. For instance, while the metal may increase in hardness, prolonged exposure to oxygen or other gases in the atmosphere might cause unwanted changes in the color or brightness of the metal. As a result, manufacturers rely on Quality Steel Treating’s vacuum aging services to help their metal products obtain all the benefits of aging, without risk of unwanted effects, in a shorter time span.

Finishing the production process
Often in manufacturing, a metal must be highly ductile, or easily formed or shaped, in order to facilitate the production process. However, once manufacturing is complete, the metal’s hardness must be increased to ensure lasting product performance. Artificial aging accomplishes this objective.

Quality’s curing services
For industries such as power generation, in which components are exposed to intense heat, protecting from wear and corrosion sometimes requires a special coating be placed on the metal. In these instances, the coating must be hardened through curing, ensuring it remains on the part and performs its function for the long-term. Quality Steel Treating performs curing services for a wide range of coatings used not only in the production of land-based turbines, but also in the automotive and motor racing industry.

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