Tempering
The second half of every quench: a controlled reheat that trades a few points of hardness for the toughness a hardened part needs to survive service.
3 treatments compared
Cycle temperature, the hardness each delivers, furnace time and relative cost, side by side. Open a treatment for its full cycle, specifications, compatible alloys and drawing call-out.
| Treatment | Temperature | Hardness | Cycle time | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Low-temperature tempering reheats freshly quenched steel at about 150–250 °C to relieve stress while retaining high martensitic hardness. | 150–250 °C | 50–60 HRC | 2–6 h | $ Budget |
Medium-temperature tempering reheats quenched steel around 300–450 °C to trade some hardness for strength, elasticity, and improved toughness. | 300–450 °C | 38–50 HRC | 3–7 h | $ Budget |
High-temperature tempering reheats quenched steel around 500–650 °C to produce tempered martensite with high toughness and moderate hardness. | 500–650 °C | 22–38 HRC | 4–10 h | $ Budget |
Ranges depend on the alloy and the specification called out. A dash means the treatment sets no target for that value.
Where tempering sits
Cycle temperature against hardness delivered across the heat-treatment library. Other families appear as faint dots. Click a dot to open its page.
Choosing between them? How to choose a heat treatment — best picks by what the part needs, the five things a drawing call-out must carry, and the questions engineers ask.