Hot Isostatic Presses

HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) is a high-temperature, high-pressure process to enhance material properties. It utilizes a specialized furnace housed within a gas pressure vessel. The process typically employs argon or nitrogen gas, pressurized up to 2000 bar and heated to temperatures up to 2000°C.

The combination of pressure and temperature densifies components to near-theoretical density. It means internal defects like porosity, voids, and microcracks are eliminated.

HIP usually operates at temperatures similar to conventional heat treatment processes. So, we can integrate both procedures into a single step, called High Pressure Heat Treatment (HPHT™). This innovative approach boosts productivity while reducing the need for additional capital equipment.

HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) densifies components at high temperatures, eliminating internal defects such as pores, voids, cracks, and lack of fusion. This process enhances material properties, including fatigue strength, elongation at failure, and impact toughness, which are crucial for mission-critical applications in industries like aerospace, nuclear, and medical.

A defect-free bulk allows surface finishing techniques, such as grinding and polishing, further improving fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, hygiene, and aesthetics.

Modern standard HIP equipment operates up to 2000 °C and 200 MPa pressure from argon or nitrogen gas. The parameters chosen are always material-specific, keeping in mind that the elevated pressure will lower the temperature needed to achieve the same effect in a pressureless environment. This can be utilized for e.g., minimizing grain growth in sintering, avoiding part surfaces sticking, controlling microstructures, etc.

HIP is used to consolidate powders, solids and combinations thereof. Materials range from ceramics to metals and composite materials. Light-weight materials, high speed steels, tool steels and super alloys all use HIP, and new generations of materials such as high entropy alloys are also developed using this process.

As the high-pressure gas is working isotopically on all exposed surfaces of the treated components, the general shape of the parts does not change from the HIP process making it possible to treat any component shape if the surfaces are gas-tight.

Castings, MIM, sintered powder compacts, and AM parts are all possible to HIP, and canned powders are formed into solid components (processes called PM HIP or PM NNS (Near Net Shape)).