When the stakes are high and precision matters, choosing the right manufacturing partner is critical. But finding the right fit goes far beyond technical capabilities—it requires a company that truly understands your market, makes communication easy, and delivers the right quality for your application at a price that makes sense.
At Jones Metal, we’ve spent years refining what makes a successful partnership. Through decades of work with aerospace, defense, and other high-precision manufacturers, we’ve pinpointed the factors that make or break a partnership. Here’s what we look for–and how to make the partnership work.
Why Manufacturers Outsource Aluminum Heat Treating
For most manufacturers, the decision to outsource comes down to volume. If your company spends less than $200,000 a year on heat treating, it rarely makes sense to bring it in-house.
Running your own aluminum heat treating means taking on:
- Equipment: A furnace, a quench system, and aging ovens, plus the floor space to house them.
- NADCAP certification: Required for aerospace and defense work, and renewed every year (which can cost up to $50,000 annually).
- Ongoing process controls: Equipment monitoring, outside audits, and documentation for traceability.
- Trained operators: Certified technicians who know how to run the process correctly every time.
- Idle time: Equipment that sits unused between jobs if you only need heat treating periodically.
A company with $25,000 a year in heat treating work would spend double that on certification alone. Outsourcing to a certified heat treating vendor gets you the same NADCAP-level quality without carrying that overhead.
When to Heat Treat: Getting the Sequence Right
In heat treating, parts move through distinct hardening stages, and there’s a narrow window when rework or additional forming is still possible. Wait too long, and the part naturally ages into a state that’s very difficult to move.
As such, where heat treating falls in your process can make or break a part. That’s why the best time to bring in a heat treating provider is before you’ve locked in your production sequence, not after.
We saw this firsthand with a customer making welded aluminum components. They were buying partially hardened material and welding it together, but the welds wouldn’t hold in the hardened state. The fix was reordering the process. We fully softened the material, they welded it, and then we heat treated the finished assembly to the hardness they needed. The problem was solved by changing when heat treating happened.
When planning your outsourcing, ask your provider:
- Where should heat treating fall in my process? Before or after welding, forming, or machining?
- Can you hold parts in the W condition? Freezing parts after quenching can preserve that workable window if your schedule doesn’t line up.
- Can you straighten parts before they harden? Some providers can hand-straighten parts in the short window after quenching.
- How long before parts can be tested and shipped? Some materials need up to four days of natural aging before T4 testing can occur.
Four Things to Look for in a Heat Treating Vendor
Not all heat treating providers maintain the same standards, and the differences aren’t always visible just by looking at a finished part. By the time you spot a problem, you’ve already lost time and money.
Before you commit to a heat treating vendor, here’s what to evaluate:
Certifications and Quality Controls
Look for NADCAP certification and adherence to standards like AMS 2770. These require monthly equipment verification by outside auditors and strict, repeatable process controls, not just a one-time certification. Ask which certifications a provider holds and how often they’re audited.
Process Discipline
Inconsistent process control is one of the most common causes of warped or rejected parts. Ask how a provider verifies that parts actually reach target temperature before the hold time starts, and how they manage quenching.
Control Over Material Movement
Aluminum is heated to nearly 1,000°F, then plunged into liquid around 80–85°F. That shock makes material move, and a provider’s answers to these questions will tell you how seriously they take controlling it:
- What quench solution do you use? A provider focused on distortion control should be able to name their solution and explain why they use it. Plain water quenches cause more movement than solutions with additives like glycol.
- How do you load baskets to minimize warping? Look for a provider who plans basket layouts around each part’s geometry, rather than loading as many parts as will fit.
- How do you fixture parts to prevent movement and surface damage? Good providers use custom fixturing to hold parts in position and keep soft aluminum from contacting other metal. Vague answers here often mean parts come back warped or scratched.
Willingness to Take Outside Parts
Some heat treaters only process parts they manufactured themselves. Others require large minimum orders or specialize in a different process entirely. Vacuum heat treating for stainless steel, titanium, and Inconel uses completely different equipment than aluminum heat treating. Confirm up front that a provider offers the exact process you need as an outside service, can handle your volume, and has a clear process for receiving outside work.
Red Flags to Watch For
Jones Metal didn’t start out as a heat treater. We got into the business because we were sending our own parts out to be heat treated, and they kept coming back warped and unusable. Many of the customers who come to us today have had similar experiences.
Here are the warning signs that your current heat treating vendor may not be the right fit:
- Missed turnaround times: Some providers quote 2-3 weeks and deliver in 2-3 months. If a provider can’t give you a realistic lead time, or consistently misses it, your production schedule will pay the price.
- Disorganization: Slow responses, lost paperwork, or confusion about your order are often signs of a shop without solid systems. Those problems rarely stay confined to the front office.
- Warped or distorted parts: Parts that come back bent, twisted, or out of shape usually point to improper quenching, poor basket loading, or inadequate fixturing.
- Wrinkles or surface damage: Dents, scratches, and wrinkles suggest careless handling of aluminum while it’s soft after quenching.
- Recurring problems with no solutions: If the same issues keep happening and your provider can’t explain why or suggest a fix, it’s time to look elsewhere.
Considering Outsourcing Aluminum Heat Treating?
Jones Metal offers aluminum heat treating as a standalone service—you don’t need us to have made the part. With NADCAP certification and over 100 years of metal forming and heat treating experience, we bring the same process discipline to outside parts that we do to our own. Contact Jones Metal today to discuss your aluminum heat treating needs.
