Heat Treat Radio #124: Solving Aluminum Distortion Challenges with Uphill Quenching

Heat Treat Radio #124: Solving Aluminum Distortion Challenges with Uphill Quenching

From Heat Treat Radio by Heat Treat Today

August 21, 2025 · 38 min

About this episode

This episode explores uphill quenching, a technique for reducing aluminum distortion, featuring insights from industry experts.

What do Mars rovers, sniper pods, and rotor grips have in common? Uphill quenching — a thermal-mechanical technique that uses liquid nitrogen and high-velocity steam to dramatically reduce stress and distortion. In this episode of Heat Treat Radio, Greg Newton, Newton Heat Treating CEO, joins host Doug Glenn to take a dive deep into this little-known but highly effective process for controlling residual stress in aluminum alloys. Also in the episode is John Avalos, Newton’s quality engineer and IT/Digital Transformation Manager. Learn how this thermal-mechanical method improves machinability, enhances precision, and extends component life, especially in aerospace and optical applications. Watch | Listen | Learn Full transcript, audio, and video to this episode is located here: https://heattreattoday.com/radio

People in this episode

Host: Doug Glenn

Guests: Greg Newton, John Avalos

Topics covered

  • aluminum distortion
  • uphill quenching
  • thermal-mechanical techniques
  • residual stress
  • machinability
  • precision
  • component life

Keywords

  • uphill quenching
  • aluminum alloys
  • thermal-mechanical method
  • residual stress
  • machinability
  • aerospace applications
  • optical applications

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Newton Heat Treating, Heat Treat Today

Places: Mars, aerospace, optical

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