Annealing (full): A generic term denoting a treatment, consisting of heating to and holding at a suitable temperature followed by cooling at a suitable rate, used primarily to [blue]soften[/blue] metallic materials. Also to simultaneously produce desired changes in other properties or in microstructure. The purpose of annealing may be to: improvement of machinability, facilitation of cold work, improvement of mechanical or electrical properties, and/or increase in stability of Dimensions.
Stress Relieving: Heating to a suitable temperature, holding long enough to reduce residual stresses, and then cooling slowly enough to minimize the development of new residual stresses.
