4. Hot forming

The physical properties and high-temperature mechanical properties of stainless steels must be taken into account when carrying out hot forming operations. These differ significantly from those of carbon steels. As their thermal conductivity is low, it is generally necessary to observe gradual temperature rises.

As their hot mechanical properties remain high, tooling will have to be sized accordingly.

When shaping from ingot-type raw casting blanks, their segregated structure requires sufficiently long homogenization heating to recover a homogeneous structure.

The tendency of certain grades (particularly ferritic steels) to grain coarsening calls for strict temperature control.