Refers to mechanical stresses in a body on which no external forces act. These stresses are introduced into the material by forming processes such as rolling or by further production steps such as milling. Residual stresses can also be caused by thermal processes or a cooling process.

Residual stresses play an important role, especially for electronic assemblies, as they can lead to warpage of the materials under the influence of temperature. For this reason, the material history should always be specified with suppliers. This means, for example, using cast instead of rolled material. Stress relief annealing should also be specified by the supplier.