Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) has seen many changes since it was first introduced as a commercial process in the 1960s. Recently, HIP and heating specialist Avure Technologies changed its name to Quintus, reflecting new developments in the industry as a whole. Liz Nickels spoke to Quintus’ Peter Henning about what's hot in the world of HIP.
Last year, Avure Technologies in Europe changed the name of its industrial segment to Quintus to reflect the name of its existing wire winding technology and also the company's existing US subsidiary. Peter Henning, business unit director of advanced material densification at Quintus Technologies, explains the reason behind the renaming. ‘A newer name incorporates a new tradition,’ he told Metal Powder Report. ‘In our case, Avure has two divisions: the industrial side and the food side. Our owners decided to increase the separation between the two in the eyes of our customers, so they renamed the industrial side Quintus. And therefore we have been given our own identity and have a better opportunity to define the technology.’
According to Peter, Quintus will focus on its two main technologies – sheet metal forming and hot isostatic and cold isostatic pressing.
Quintus Technologies is one of the first pioneers of hot isostatic pressing (HIP), developing the technology for over 50 years. ‘Asea, later ABB, were looking at how to process synthetic diamonds,’ Peter says. ‘One of the key challenges for them was to maintain the very high pressure and high temperature required, but in a safe fashion. And that's when Quintus HIP technology was developed.’ At a later stage the company then moved on to the hot isostatic pressing of metal powder parts.
Heat treatment
According to the company, HIP is used to form and densify containerized powder shapes and containerless metal and ceramic parts. With typical pressures from 1035 to 2070 bar (15,000–30,000 psi) and temperatures up to 2000°C (3632°F), HIP can achieve 100% of maximum theoretical density and improve the ductility and fatigue resistance of critical, high-performance materials.
HIP is used to eliminate pores and remove casting defects, and carbides, to dramatically increase the material properties. The components are often of net shape or near net shape configuration.
Common applications for HIP include defect healing of castings, consolidation of powder, and diffusion bonding of dissimilar metals or alloys.
