Annealed: A metalgraphic process in which a ball is softened. An annealed ball can be ground, drilled, filed and welded. Heated to remove or prevent internal stress; free from internal stress by heating and gradually cooling; toughened or tempered.
Ball Diameter Variation: The difference between the largest and the smallest actual single diameter of one ball.
Ball Gage: The prescribed small amount by which the lot mean diameter should differ from nominal diameter, this amount being one of an established series of amounts. A ball gage, in combination with the ball grade and nominal ball diameter should be considered as the most exact ball size specification to be used by a customer for ordering purposes.
Case Depth: A distance from the surface of the ball to the unhardened core. It is measured radially from the surface to a point where carbon content or hardness becomes the same as the core.
Container Marking Increment: The standard unit steps in micrometers or in microinches, used to express the specific diameter.
Deviation from Spherical Form: Determined by rotation of the ball against a linear transducer with less than 4 grams of force. The resulting polar chart is interpreted using the minimum circumscribed circle method (MCC) per ABMA std. 10.
Flashing: A process that gives a ball blank a rough finish and removes the excess material around the ball.
Grade: Specific combination of dimensional form and surface roughness tolerance. Ball grade is designated by a grade number.
Grinding: A process in which balls are polished or smoothed with a grinding wheel to make a ball a smaller size.
Hardness: The measure of resistance to penetration of the ball surface or truncated flat of the ball by a specific indenting shape.
Heading: A process that produces slugs from raw wire or rod material through cold forging.
Heat Treating: A high temperature process that hardens the ball by subjecting a metal or alloy to controlled heating and cooling to improve hardness and other properties.
Lot Diameter Variation: The difference b
