Cost-effective hiping

The hot isostatic pressing process has grown from an interesting research t ool into a viable production technology. A wide range of materials are now processed commercially with the goal of obtaining the superior properties m andated for high performance applications in aerospace, wear part and tool production, oil and gas offshore component manufacture, and others. While t he technology has flourished in certain niche markets, its broader usage ha s been impeded by a perceived and sometimes real "expensive" image. The dev elopment of more rapid processing techniques to increase throughput and dev elop metallurgical benefits has created an upturn in the overall acceptance and usefulness of the technology. Here we review the development of hot is ostatic pressing equipment from a "one fits all" generic facility into unit s designed for specific processes, and the emergence of two techniques for achieving improved production efficiencies via faster throughput, namely un iform rapid cooling, and the cold-loading/hot - unloading cycle. Finally a comparison is made of the various processes available today for application s ranging from aerospace castings for defect healing, to steel powder conso lidation for high speed tool steel automotive gear shafts. It is shown that the advances in hot isostatic pressing technology resulting from more soph isticated equipment can improve process economy, even though the initial ca pital expenditure may be high. Advanced hot isostatic pressing equipment pr omises to expand the technology to achieve lower cost and larger throughput volume.