What is Aging? The aging process can be defined as a process applied to give strength to the metal by ensuring the precipitation of the alloy material in the structure of the metal. Precipitation Hardening Precipitation hardening facilitates and ensures hardening by allowing the controlled release of the components that form the precipitation piles while hardening the materials. This event greatly increases the strength of the part. What are the Benefits of Precipitation Hardening? It is possible to achieve the desired qualities of many castings and stainless steel alloys by solution solution or solution and precipitation age hardening methods. Properties such as mechanical strength and corrosion resistance against room temperature and/or higher temperatures are easily imparted to the material thanks to the mentioned processes. Aging Practices and Materials It improves the qualities of precipitation hardening stainless steels and determines the correct heat treatment parameters. Applying the solution process alone or in combination with the precipitation age hardening process is a frequently preferred method for stainless steels that can be precipitated hardening. What is the application of the solution taking process? During the manufacturing process, many materials can undergo work hardening, which can prevent the material from being processed further. The solution taking process, also known as the stress relieving process, reduces hardening and allows subsequent processes to be carried out. During production activities such as brazing, laser, welding or coating, material qualities may be exposed to undesirable effects. These effects can be eliminated by solutionization before the final stages of the production process. Manufacturing activities may cause the final precipitation age hardening process to begin prematurely. However, it is also possible to fix this problem by re-dissolving before the remaining operations. It is not recommended to use only the solution-treated part due to the presence of untempered martensite, which weakens the corrosion resistance and can cause brittle damage. 15-5PH, 17-4PH and Ph13-8Mo are examples of this situation. What is the Application of Precipitation Aging Hardening? In order for the parts to reach the final material qualities that meet certain design conditions and for the materials (casting/processed materials) to develop a special microstructure, they must be subjected to a series of long-term heat treatments at low temperatures, and this process is called precipitation age hardening. This stage is generally applied at or towards the end of the production process. Because the strength of the materials increases as a result of heat treatments, predictable dimensional changes, such as shrinkage, may occur and these need to be calculated. If machining is desired after age hardening, the total machining cost can increase significantly. Typical material examples can be considered as: 15-5PH, 17-4PH, 17-7PH and Maraging 250. Commonly used heat treatment symbols are H900 or H1075. H900 refers to aging for 1 hour at 755°C (900°F) and H1075 refers to aging for 4 hours at 850°C (1075°F). Whatever the case, it is important to start with solution-treated materials, or more commonly referred to as Type A materials.