Quenching methods and processes

There are currently four main quenching methods:

 1: Water quenching: refers to a method in which the steel strip is rapidly cooled by a cooling plate with circulating water after it is heated.

       Advantages: pollution-free, simple and fast.

       Disadvantages: The cooling effect is not easy to control, and the steel belt will cause scratches.

2: Oil quenching: After the steel strip is heated, a spray device is used to spray oil directly onto the surface of the steel strip to achieve rapid cooling.

       Advantages: Moderate cooling effect, no scratches.

       Disadvantages: Liquid oil easily produces smoke, serious pollution, and high cost.

3: Lead quenching: After the steel strip is heated, it is directly put into the lead bath to achieve rapid cooling.

      Advantages: No scratches on the steel strip, good cooling effect, and uniform performance of the steel strip.

      Disadvantages: pollution and high cost.

4: Hydrogen quenching: After the steel strip is heated, hydrogen is sprayed directly onto the surface of the steel strip through a sealing device to achieve cooling.

      Advantages: Steel strips can obtain better mechanical properties. Currently, it is known that only Sandvik is using this equipment.

      Disadvantages: complex equipment and high safety requirements.

The main factors that affect the performance of the steel strip after quenching are:

      1: Quenching temperature: Theoretically, the higher the quenching temperature, the higher the hardness of the material after quenching. However, the quenching temperature of materials of different materials also needs to be controlled within a certain range. If it is too low, the purpose of quenching will not be achieved, and the structural transformation will not be possible. If the temperature is too high, the material will easily over-burn, destroying the entire performance of the material.

2: Heating time: If the heating time is short, the material will be unevenly heated and cooled, and the hardness of the material will be uneven. This type of material will cause damage to the mold during the stamping process of customers. Long heating time and low efficiency will increase costs and waste resources.

3: Belt speed: If the belt speed is too fast, the heating and cooling of the material are insufficient, the surface hardness and core hardness of the material deviate greatly, and the material will deform and crack. The belt speed is too slow, affecting production efficiency and increasing costs.

Different quenching processes are formulated for different customers and different requirements. When setting the process, the above points need to be considered.