Normalising aims to give the steel a uniform and fine-grained structure. The process is used to obtain a predictable microstructure and an assurance of the steel’s mechanical properties.

After forging, hot rolling or casting a steel’s microstructure is often unhomogeneous consisting of large grains, and unwanted structural components such as bainite and carbides. Such a microstructure has a negative impact on the steel’s mechanical properties as well as on the machinability.