The heat treatments allow steel and its different alloys to obtain characteristics of greater resistance, to be used according to the needs of the industry.

What is a heat treatment?

It is a process of heating metals or alloys in solid state at defined temperatures. Afterwards, cooling is performed at a certain speed to raise the properties in chemical and physical composition, which increase their mechanical resistance.

It should be noted that it involves several heating and cooling processes, to create structural changes in the material, and thus modify its mechanical properties such as: hardness, strength and elasticity.

Types of heat treatments

To make this change, there are several types of heat treatments, which we will mention below:

Tempering or tempering in general

Its objective is to increase the hardness and strength of the steel. To do this, the steel is heated to a temperature slightly higher than the critical temperature and cooled more or less rapidly with water, oil, etc. It is common to see this process in machine shops, however high-end parts such as transmission gears must be treated under elaborate control.

In order to control the heating and cooling process of the metal parts, they are placed in heat treatment furnaces. These industrial furnaces allow to control the parameters such as temperature and presence of gases to give a specific treatment to the metal.

There are different types of tempering inside and outside a heat treatment furnace, such as:

Complete continuous: Applies to hypoeutectoid steels (carbon content less than 0.9%).
Incomplete continuous: It applies to hypereutectoid steels (carbon content higher than 0.9%).
Scalloped: Used for high strength alloy steels.
Surface: Used when workpieces must have a hard, wear-resistant surface.
Induction: Used to increase the mechanical properties of ferrous components in a specific area.
Tempering: Only applied to previously hardened steels, to slightly decrease the effects of quenching.

Carbon as an indispensable material

Within the different types of heat treatments, carbon/graphite is used to improve the performance of furnaces, since it is resistant to high temperatures, where another type of packing and thermal insulator would not resist.

The range of products we have are ideal as insulating material for the lining of heat treatment furnaces and their packaging, among other uses. We have different presentations such as:

Graphite braided packing.
Graphite tapes
Graphite yarn
Flexible carbon fiber felt
Carbon fiber rigid felt

Carbonized or graphitized fiber threads, offer the versatility of a thread to sew the joints of flexible felt, which is used as a liner.

In addition, rigid felt plates are used on furnace walls as thermal insulation, thus optimizing the amount of energy used in the process.

The braided graphite packing and graphite tapes provide an airtight seal that is resistant to the high furnace temperatures. In this way, specific parameters can be set in a controlled atmosphere.

In we commercialize a range of flexible and rigid materials, subjected to carbonization or graphitization processes, making them resistant to high temperatures. Ask for personalized advice.

Limitations to consider

Performance depends on graphite grade, grain orientation, temperature, load, pressure, speed, and operating environment. Material selection should be confirmed for your actual process conditions.

Information needed for a quote

To guide selection or prepare a quote, ESGRAF typically needs:

Application and operating conditions (temperature, atmosphere, load).
Dimensions, technical drawing, or CAD file when applicable.
Required quantity.
Requested grade or material currently in use.
Observed issue with the previous part or lubricant, if any.

Request a quote

Share these details with our team at ESGRAF or request information. A specialist will review your application before recommending a grade or geometry.