Heat Treatment 

Heat Treatment is one method used to improve the mechanical and physical properties of an aluminum casting. Heat Treatment consists of the heating and cooling of a casting in a controlled and specified manner, which does not change or affect the shape of a casting. Heat Treatment not only improves the strength, hardness and electrical conductivity of an aluminum casting but it also helps to improve other manufacturing processes such as machining. Heat Treatment must be conducted in properly designed furnaces that provide the internal thermal conditions and temperature controls to meet strictly specified guidelines and controls.  

The Stages of Heat Treatment: 

Solution Heat Treatment - consists of heating an aluminum alloy casting to a high temperature for a desired amount of time. After the casting is heated to a high temperature it is rapidly quenched, by immersing the entire casting in a water or water glycol solution. This process is usually done to increase the strength of a casting

Artificial Aging – consists of heating an alloy for an extended amount of time. During the Artificial Aging process the castings are heated for a specified period of time but to a much lower temperature ten the Solution Heat Treatment process. By maintaining the heating process for an extended amount of time the grain structure is refined, producing much greater strength properties of the castings. Artificial Aging is used to create a harder casting. The Artificial Aging speeds up the process of aging of a casting that would normally occur naturally over several years.

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