Annealing
Annealing
Heating to and holding at a suitable temperature and then cooling at a suitable rate for such purposes as reducing hardness; improving machinability; facilitating cold working; producing a desired microstructure; or obtaining desired mechanical, physical, or other properties. When applied to ferrous alloys, the term "annealing", without qualification, implies full annealing. When applied to nonferrous alloys, annealing implies a heat treatment designed to soften a cold-worked structure by recrystallization or subsequent grain growth or to soften an age-hardened alloy by causing a nearly complete precipitation of the second phase in relatively coarse form.