Hot isostatic pressing increases component density by removing excess liquids and voids. This process is used to create cost-effective, durable items and reduce waste in industries such as aerospace, petroleum, automotive, and medical.
Hot isostatic pressing is a process where the overall density of a component is increased by removing excess liquids and voids. This normally occurs during a two part process to ensure the material is structurally sound and capable of withstanding enormous amounts of force while under stress. The component, usually a powder, is first exposed to extreme temperatures to drive off any moisture and a heavy vacuum is also implemented to remove any impurities it may contain. As this occurs, inert gases are introduced into the contained environment until the internal pressure creates a uniform metallurgical bond within the grain size particles. The result of a hot isostatic pressing process is metal sand with density very close to 100%, ready to be molded into almost any shape for various industries.
One of the most popular examples of hot isostatic pressing is the coating process. By infusing a rare metal or tough metallic powder into the exterior of a much more common material, manufacturers are able to produce cost-effective items that have an extended life expectancy since they are much more durable. While this was somewhat achievable in the past by combining two different metals through metallurgy, hot isostatic pressing does not combine two metals to create an alloy. This allows the process to be applied to many different types of materials previously not possible, such as metal casings on ceramics or plastics.
One of the major benefits of hot isostatic pressing for many industries is the dramatic reduction in the amount of wasted components, which saves manufacturers up to 30% on their material and labor purchases. Previous conventional methods resulted in a large amount of scrap metal remaining during the final stages of construction and as rare materials such as tungsten carbide were very expensive this was a serious problem. Because this process can replicate very complex geometric shapes at nearly any scale, very little metal is lost during the final forming process.
The first implementations of the hot isostatic pressing process date back to 1955, with the aim of creating complex and uniform materials, otherwise not achievable by gluing or welding. While this technology was originally created to serve the aerospace industry to protect itself from external pressure exerted on spacecraft, it quickly became popular in the petroleum, automotive, and medical industries as well. Rocket engines and deep space satellites have also been built using this process, because there is simply no other way to make them with greater durability. Because the volume of shapes and sizes that can be created is nearly unlimited, hot isostatic pressing should continue to remain a popular alternative in many separate industries.
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