Editing Heat treating (section)

{{short description|Process of heating something to alter it}}
[[File:Heat-Treating-Furnace.jpg|thumb|Heat treating furnace at {{convert|1800|F|abbr=on}}|300x300px]]
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'''Heat treating''' (or '''heat treatment''') is a group of [[industrial process|industrial]], thermal and [[metalworking|metalworking processes]] used to alter the [[physical property|physical]], and sometimes [[chemical property|chemical]], properties of a material. The most common application is [[metallurgy|metallurgical]]. Heat treatments are also used in the manufacture of many other materials, such as [[glass]]. Heat treatment involves the use of heating or chilling, normally to extreme temperatures, to achieve the desired result such as hardening or softening of a material. Heat treatment techniques include [[annealing (materials science)|annealing]], [[case hardening]], [[precipitation strengthening]], [[tempering (metallurgy)|tempering]], [[carburizing]], [[annealing (materials science)#Normalization|normalizing]] and [[quench]]ing. Although the term ''heat treatment'' applies only to processes where the heating and cooling are done for the specific purpose of altering properties intentionally, heating and cooling often occur incidentally during other manufacturing processes such as hot forming or welding.