A process for heat treating selected portions of an integrally bladed rotor (IBR) having a plurality of blades, the process using an IBR on a fixture having a rotor engaging portion that moves the IBR into an environmental chamber. An IR heater is placed on one of the IBR blades and heat treated after air has been removed from the chamber and an inert gas is added. The IR heater is lifted from the blade and indexed to position another blade on the IBR. The process is repeated until all the IBR blades are heat treated.