The main function of tempering something is to add strength to the material. Tempering is a technique involving heat treatment that is used to toughen steel. For steel to be tempered, it must be heated up to a specific temperature range and rapidly cooled by being submerged into water. Steel can only be tempered if high amounts of carbon are already present within the steel.
As steel heats, the color of the metal changes which indicates what temperature the steel is heated to. Tempering takes place at specific temperatures, care should be taken not to overheat a piece of steel as it will compromise its potential. Steel is light yellow at temperatures around 446 degrees Fahrenheit. Steel will change from yellow to dark yellow to red-brown to purple and finally to blue at around 563 degrees Fahrenheit. Steel should never be heated beyond this temperature for tempering.
Steel has a naturally high surface hardness, tempering steel toughens the material and reduces brittleness. There are several benefits to tempering steel. When steel is tempered, ductility improves, the likelihood of cracking decreases, machinability is improved, impact resistance increases and malleability improves.
Steel can be heated up, melted, formed and machined into any number of different shapes of various sizes. Steel is a magnetic material that is affected by magnetic fields. This material is also 100 percent recyclable, the magnetic property of steel makes it easy to recycle because it can be sorted quickly. Steel is currently the most recycled material throughout the world.
Currently there are numerous uses for tempered steel. Steel is widely used in many automotive applications, dozens of car parts are made of steel. The automotive industry has depended on high-grade steel for decades. Many other industries throughout the world employ tempered steel as part of their daily operations.