Category: Austenitizing
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Austenitizing Part 3 – Multi-Step Austenitizing
There are many modifications to a straight high temperature austenitize for a given hold time followed by quenching. I am covering a few of them in this article.
Preheating
Preheating is performed to minimize size change, distortion, and cracking during heat treatment. Often a single preheating is recommended, but for some grades two preheating temperatures are recommended. For example, the Vanadis 4 Extra datasheet recommends a first preheat temperature of 600-650°C and a second of 850-900°C, such as in the following schematic [1]:
Austenitizing Part 2 – Effects on Properties
Carbide Volume
As covered in Part 1, carbide volume decreases with increasing temperature. As an example, here are micrographs showing carbides in a spray-form version of the original Vanadis 4 (non-Extra) [1]:
Austenitizing Part 1 – What it is
Update 7/6/2018: Since the writing of the original article I found some excellent micrographs that show austenitization very well and serve as a good supplement to the schematic diagrams. Go to the bottom of the article to see them.

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