In this work, medium capacity controlled heating system is designed and constructed. The programming method of control of heating process is achieved by means of integrated programmable logic controller (PLC) and frequency inverter (FI). The PLC main function is to determine the required temperatures levels and the related time intervals of the heating hold time in the furnace. FI is used to control the dynamic change of temperature between various operating points. The designed system shows the capability for full control of temperature from zero to maximum for any required range of time in case of increasing or decreasing the temperature. All variables of the system will be changed gradually until reaching their needed working points. An experimental study was performed to investigate the effect of tempering temperature and tempering time on hardness and fatigue resistance of 0.4% carbon steel. It was found that increasing tempering temperature above 550 degrees C or tempering time decreases the hardness of the material. It was also found that there is a maximum number of cycles to which the specimen can survive what ever the applied load was. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.