Rockwell Scores aren't the Clincher, Performance Is
Sep 17, 2016
Bryce Fastener performs all of our own Heat Treating in house. Roger, our lead Heat Treater has to dress up like a Martian in order to handle 1800° of heat from one of our furnaces. Customer feedback over the years is the best teacher we’ve had in becoming experts at Heat Treating.
Heat Treat Best Practice
The most important thing we’ve learned along the way is attaining a perfect Rockwell score doesn’t mean our security screws are ready for shipment. We look for Rockwell scores of RC 33 (screws) and RC 65 (tooling). An RC 33 part can be too soft or a RC 65 part can be too brittle. The Rockwell score doesn’t tell how much of the metal has been transformed by the heat. There has to be a balance of time, temperature, temper time, and quench rate in order for the part to perform well. If our bits are breaking too easily, often it isn’t a problem with the material, but a failure in one of our tempering furnaces to hold a constant heat. If quenching rates are too slow, the parts will bend. But, if they are too fast, the parts will crack. Quenching rates need to be just right.
Providing our customers with the highest performing screw is the result of yielding the right Rockwell score along with attaining the perfect balance of quenching times and temperatures. Once in a while I do send screws out to be commercially Heat Treated but I think our Martian men do the best Heat Treating.