Manufacturing Insights with FMC: Heat Treatment of Steel Discs

By now, you’ll know that at FMC, quality sits at the heart of everything we do. This commitment extends throughout our entire steel disc manufacturing process. Unlike other manufacturers, every component produced in our factory undergoes a process of heat treatment – more specifically, stress relieving or tempering – to ensure optimal durability and performance.

Stress Relief Matters 

All steel has internal stresses that are introduced during the milling process. These are further intensified during the principal manufacturing operations of our parts, like laser cutting, machining and stamping. If left untreated, as many manufacturers do, this can significantly affect the performance of a finished disc/plate – most commonly leading to distortion or warping during application. 

Advanced Furnace Technologies 

Not only does FMC stress relieve all parts, but due to constant innovations in our furnace technologies, we actually lead the market in this area. We have invested heavily in furnace innovation, with our heat treatment of steel being carefully controlled to achieve both precision and consistency. 

To explain how the process works, the parts are stacked under a load and placed in a furnace. Applying the load ensures that the parts fit the specified flatness tolerances. 

Controlling Oxidation 

With any heat treatment processes, oxidation is something everyone wants to avoid. Here at FMC, we’ve developed advanced solutions to mitigate this risk. 

In the images below, you can see the heat treatment of steel parts. One part has been heat-treated using the traditional process, and the other using FMC’s innovative process.

The blue discolouration on the traditionally-heated part’s surface is a great example of oxidation. Having oxidation on the parts reduces the fatigue strength of the steel and makes later processes around the factory more difficult. 

By maintaining highly controlled furnace environments and consistent temperatures, the FMC process protects the surface integrity of the disc and achieves improved flatness. 

This level of precision is maintained by our in-house team of metallurgists, who carefully optimise the tempering heat, ramp profile and cooling rate to ensure that we provide a superior quality product.   

In our next instalment, we will explore additional in-house heat treatment processes and how they enhance the performance of FMC products. 

Working directly with a manufacturer like FMC ensures your equipment operates reliably and safely over extended periods. Choose FMC as your trusted global partner in friction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the heat treatment of steel, and why is it important for steel discs?

A: Heat treatment of steel is a controlled process involving heating and cooling to change the physical and mechanical properties of the steel.

For steel discs, processes like stress relieving and tempering are crucial to remove internal stresses introduced during manufacturing (like cutting and machining). This prevents common issues such as warping, distortion, and loss of flatness, ensuring optimal durability and performance.

Q: What is ‘stress relieving’ and why is it necessary?

A: Stress relieving is a heat treatment process that reduces residual internal stresses in the steel disc. These stresses are inherent in the steel milling process and intensified during operations like laser cutting and stamping.

If these stresses remain, they can cause the finished disc to significantly distort or warp when put into use. FMC performs this process on every component to guarantee dimensional stability and quality.

Q: How does FMC’s heat treatment process compare to traditional methods?

A: While many manufacturers skip this crucial step entirely, FMC’s process involves advanced furnace technologies and highly controlled environments. We place parts under a load during heating to ensure they meet specified flatness tolerances. 

Our innovative approach minimises oxidation, a common problem in traditional heat treatment. Less oxidation means better surface integrity and higher strength in the steel disc.

Q: What is oxidation, and why does FMC try to avoid it?

A: Oxidation, often visible as blue discolouration on the steel’s surface after heating, is the formation of a scale layer when steel reacts with oxygen at high temperatures. Oxidation is bad because it reduces the fatigue strength of the steel and makes later manufacturing processes more difficult. 

FMC uses highly controlled furnace environments and consistent temperatures to control this risk, protecting the disc’s surface integrity and reducing warping.

Q: Who oversees the heat treatment process at FMC?

A: The precision of our heat treatment is maintained by our dedicated in-house team of metallurgists. They carefully research every parameter, including the tempering heat, the ramp profile (how quickly the temperature rises), and the cooling rate, ensuring consistency and quality for every steel disc manufacturing run.

Q: Does every steel disc manufactured by FMC undergo heat treatment?

A: Yes, unlike other manufacturers, every component produced in the FMC factory undergoes a process of heat treatment, specifically stress relieving or tempering, to ensure optimal performance and durability.