12L14 too hard 1

[stel8]

I have small parts made from 12L14 cold drawn with hardness about 90HRB. What can I do to soften the material which will be deformed to a lower height.

Would heat treatment be influenced by the lead from the material?

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[swall]

First of all, 12L14 does not take well to high levels of deformation due to the directional properties imparted by the high inclusion content due to the added sulfur. Perhaps you could supply more information about the configuration of these parts and the amount of deformation you need to perform.

 

[stel8]

The part is a ring and deformation is simply upsetting the ring to about half of its height. It's the ring test for lubricants.

 

[stanweld]

You can perform a subcritical stress relieving heat treatment to lower the hardness without fear.

 

[metman]

stel8,
1) Are you testing the lubricant and therefore do not care if the ring develops cracks? 1/2 height is severe deformation and cracks would seem a distinct possiblility given swall's comment even though this is a very ductile alloy.

2) The Lead will not have much effect on heat treatment.

3) You could try stanweld's suggestion at about 1200-1250F but you might need to perform a full anneal at about 1650F and furnace cool for dead soft.