Annealing is the treatment of a metal or alloy by heating to a predetermined temperature and then cooling to room temperature. Annealing improves ductility and reduces brittleness. IST anneals in a controlled atmosphere to avoid surface scaling.

Normalizing is the treatment of a metal or alloy by heating to a predetermined temperature above the material’s transformation temperature and then controlled cooling to well below the transformation range. Normalizing provides grain refinement and uniformity. IST normalizes in a controlled atmosphere to avoid surface scaling.

Stress Relieving is the treatment of a metal or alloy by heating to a predetermined temperature below its lower transformation temperature followed by cooling in air. The primary purpose is to relieve stresses that have been absorbed by the metal from processes such as forming, straightening, machining or rolling.