Metallic materials consist of a microstructure of small crystals called "grains" or crystallites. The nature of the grains (i.e. grain size and composition) is one of the most effective factors that can determine the overall mechanical behaviour of the metal. Heat treatment provides an efficient way to manipulate the properties of the metal by controlling rate of diffusion, and the rate of cooling within the microstructure.

Inidam Ltd offer a number of different heat treatment methods of light alloys or steels. The fully automated equipment is calibrated regularly and is capable of processing large or small components in big quantities. Due to the nature of the work most heat treatment companies can only promise a 5 – 10 day turnaround, whereas Inidam can guarantee a 3 day turnaround- probably the quickest and most reliable service in the UK.

For many customers Heat Treatment is required in addition to NDT. We can offer a full service to suit the requirements of the client. The equipment consists of:

 i) A 600C Fan Assisted High Temperature Oven. This is capable of processing two tonnes of metal at a time in 1.1m³ baskets. Components up to 1.4 m can be treated.

ii) A hot water quench tank. For the solution processes the heat treated metals are removed from the high temperature oven and immediately quenched in water between 40C and 90C, depending on the client’s requirements.

iii) A 300C Fan Assisted Low Temperature Oven. This can process up to four tonnes per treatment with components up to 4m in length.

All treatments are carefully monitored with temperatures and times recorded on a UKAS calibrated chart recorder. All records are kept for future reference.Calibration is carried out on a regular basis on ovens, thermo-couples and chart recorders. A full metallurgy service is provided by Inidam, including: elongation tests, chemical analysis, Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS), and hardness tests (In Rockwell, Brinell, and Vickers).