Relieving the stress - VSR for metallic parts

It is expensive, time consuming and can involve parts being transported elsewhere for weeks at a time, however, heat treatment for stress relief is a necessary evil for the manufacturing industry. Seen as essential for tackling residual stress in parts, its drawbacks are generally accepted as unavoidable.

Despite its widespread use, investigations have found that heat treatment is not always appropriate for larger components and that using it may actually lead to distortion out of required tolerances and potential scrapping of parts.

At the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), UK, part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), we are further investigating an alternative to heat treatment for relieving residual stress by collaborating with experts on the use of Vibratory Stress Relief (VSR).