Heat treatment changes microstructure to adjust hardness, toughness, or stress state. Common goals include increasing wear resistance, relieving residual stress after machining, or preparing material for subsequent hardening.
Call out the required spec (for example a standard or hardness range) and whether distortion limits matter for downstream machining or grinding.
Some finishes (like certain plating) also need bake cycles for hydrogen embrittlement concerns on high-strength steels—your drawing stack should mention process constraints when applicable.