Re: What is your definition of "tempering"? Stainless Steel T301
Today I had a material salesman tell our purchasing personnel that he had some Stainless Steel T301 that was annealed and then ?tempered? to Full Hard. When the proposal was given to me for review, I rejected it because you can?t ?temper? T-301 to Full Hard. The salesman corrected me and said they tempered it by roll hardening the material. I realize that you can increase the hardness and tensile strength of 300 series Stainless, but this is not ?tempering?. I was always taught that tempering is a method of using heating and cooling practices to anneal a hardened material down to a desired hardness. You heat treat a piece of 1095 annealed spring steel and then temper it by drawing it at an elevated temperature. The salesman disagreed. His idea is that tempering is any process that changes the strength of the material. Thoughts please?
I'll agree that this is semantics.
I now see where you are coming from. Someone changed the thread title by adding the T-301 Stainless. I had just asked for the meaning of tempering. The change gives it a whole different meaning.
As to the semantic thing - Quality Assurance is about being exact! There is no context variation. Save that type of thinking for political debates. When peoples' lives depend on you being right, you don't assume or blurr meanings of words.
I'll also agree that quality Assurance is about being exact to the degree required.
But all the same, people's lives shouldn't ever be dependant on the word used by a salesman.
Is the thing you are trying to Assure that the Stainless is "Full Hard"? Did you pass GRR on that?
You have specs for the material, and validation on the process used to make that product. Who cares if a salesman calls it "tempering", "roll hardening" or "making it with pixie dust" ?
I shudder to think of a quality system being based on using correct American words (that sometimes aren't even English).
Spec the part number.
Measure and track the properties.
Validate and control the process.
Let the salesman call it whatever he wants...I prefer 'shiny thing' myself.
FWIW- the general definition of tempering in every place I looked specifically relates it to a heat treating process (glass, metal, plastic).
I applaud your curiosity and wanting to be precise.
Arguing with a salesman over wording seems like a waste of your talent. Spend it things that are measureable instead.
