A wide range of material property improvements has been claimed for steels treated at low-temperatures:
Wear Resistance
One of the most prevalent claims for cold or cryogenic treatment of metals is an increase in wear resistance (with or without a hardness increase).
Dimensional Stability
The original purpose of cryogenic treatment was to stabilize part dimensions by eliminating the possibility of spontaneous transformation of retained austenite to martensite during fabrication or in service.
Hardness
In many cases, hardness increases of 1 to 3 points Rockwell C-scale hardness(HRC) have been claimed, although some report little increase in hardness.
Resonant Frequency
Shifts in resonant frequency have been documented and are being applied to musical instruments such as trumpets and trombones.
The practical cost savings from increased wear resistance of low temperature treating of tooling include:
Delayed purchase of new tooling
Decreased resharpen, regrind, and rework
Less scheduled downtime to change tooling
Lower labor costs
Decreased loss of production parts when tooling is out of spec.
