Metallurgy is the manufacture of metallic components used in engineering or consumer products. It involves the fabrication of alloys, the formation, the treatment of heat and surface treatment of the item for consumption. Metallurgy is very common in production engineering. The primary task of a metallurgist is to attain stability between properties of materials like cost, strength, weight, hardness, corrosion, toughness, fatigue resistance and performance in extreme heat. To attain this aim, the working environment should be considered carefully. Ferrous metals and a few aluminum alloys rust rapidly in saltwater location.

Metals uncovered to cryogenic or cold conditions might suffer ductile to breakable transition and may lose their hardiness and become more breakable and inclined to cracking. Metals under continuous stress at high temperatures may creep. They can also endure metal fatigue if they under constant cyclic loading.

Metalworking processes

Metals are formed by means of processes like casting, rolling, gorging, extrusion, flow forming, sintering, machining, fabrication and metal working. With casting, liquefied metal is transferred into a formed mould. Forging is the process wherein the warm billet is being hammered into form. In rolling, the billet is passed consecutively through narrower rollers in order to make a sheet. With extrusion, the hot and soft metals are enforced under pressure to form before they cool. Sintering is the process wherein a pulverized metal is being heated in an environment which is not oxidized after compacted in a die. With machining, milling machine, lathes and drills slice the chilly metal to form. Fabrication is the process wherein the pieces of metal are sliced with gas cutters or guillotines and curved into shape.

Cold working procedure, where the shape of the product is changed by means of rolling, manufacture or other procedures while the item is cold, may improve the power of the manufactured goods by the procedure known as work hardening. The process of work hardening produces tiny defects within the metal that resist additional changes in shape.

Heat treatment

Metals may be treated with heat in order to change the properties of potency, toughness, ductility, stiffness or resistance to oxidization. Regular heat treatment procedures include precipitation strengthening, annealing, tempering and quenching. The annealing procedures soften the metals by permitting recovery of chilly work and growth of grain. Tempering may cause the liquefied alloying components to precipitate, or develop impact power and flexible property in case of slaked steels. Quenching is the process used in hardening alloy steels, to trap liquefied solute atoms which are in solution forms.

Regularly, thermal and mechanical treatments are merged known as thermo–mechanical treatments intended for superior assets and more proficient dispensation of materials. These procedures are commonly used in high alloy exceptional steels, excellent alloys and also titanium alloys.