Eliminates all internal voids in castings and metallic components
created by additive manufacturing methods
Decreases casting inspection rejection rate
Improves product consistency
Improves soundness and mechanical properties (fatigue life,
ductility, impact strength) of castings, potentially allowing sleeker design
Enhances vacuum tightness and machined surface finish of castings
Produces full density material from metal, composite, polymer or
ceramic powders without melting
From powders, creates solid material with superior properties due
to fine, uniform grain size and isotropic structure
Enables unique powder blends to be combined into solids that would
not be possible to form by other manufacturing methods
Produce complex-shaped solid components from powders
Improves toughness, ductility, fatigue strength, and consistency
of metal injection moulded (MIM) parts
Bonds dissimilar metals without the need of temperature-limiting
adhesives
Produce clad components via HIP bonding.
HIP improves product consistency with less variation in mechanical
properties.
Typically tensile and proof strengths increase by around 5% and
ductility by up to 50%, although the degree of casting property improvement is dependent
on many parameters including the initial as cast quality.
Fatigue properties significantly increase following HIP with up to
tenfold fatigue life improvements achieved, producing properties comparable to similar
wrought alloys.
Impact strength, toughness, and machined surface finish are all
enhanced.
Property improvements may allow castings to be considered for new
applications and/or allow a redesign of existing components to a more cost effective
solution.
Shrinkage defects, creep voids and internal cracks are removed.
HIP allows recovery of castings that would otherwise be rejected
based on x-ray inspection.
By eliminating porosity, HIP removes fatigue crack initiation
sites
Here are just some of the materials that can be treated:-
Most cast products suffer from porosity
whether it be micro or serious voids sub surface. Once machined the porosity
is evident and the casting either needs weld repair or is scrap. Valves with important
sealing surfaces with sub surface porosity can leak under pressure. By including our Argon
high pressure treatment these sub surface voids are collapsed and a superior machined
sealing surface is achieved. Contact us
for a call back and we will discuss how we can help.
By incorporating this high pressure process into your casting route, time wasted through
xray in minimised. You supply your casting post fettled in a clean condition and we will
treat them at typical temperatures of :-
Argon gas pressures vary up to 200Mpa. This is 30,000 psi which is
equivalent to 12.4 tons of gas pressure on every surface, even inside the cooling channels
of turbine blades. This is isostatic hot argon gas pressure which does not distort the
casting, merely squeezes it for the porosity to consolidate. Non surface connected
porosity will be eradicated under normal conditions.
The
Mariana_Trench which is the deepest part of the oceans on earth has a pressure of
15,750 psi (1086 bar). A standard high pressure hot argon gas cycle subjects the casting
to 15,400 psi (1030 bar) so consider your casting to have seen the equivalent of being at
the btm of the Mariana trench but also at an elevated temperature customed to suit the
material.
The effects of this treatment are not reproduceable in any other process,
all internal voids will be closed.
All casting can suffer from some sort of porosity, providing it is not surface
connected then we can process it to remove it. Surface connected can be closed by weld and
then treated to some extent. Why not contact us to see what we can do for you. . Argon
treatment leaves no residues. Not only does it close porosity but it also improves the
properties of the casting, a 2 in 1 process.
As the pressure medium is Argon gas, there is no contamination of the
workpiece. Most Argon is recycled as there are minimul impurities. Typically less than 50
parts per million in total of the gases ( HC, H2, 02, H20 and N2 )
If you have problems with porosity then contact me in the first instance
and we will help you have the porosity removed from your castings.
Maximum weight of 12 tons can be processed in one cycle ( dimensions
permitting) with state of the art equipment and most major aerospace approvals.
Powder billets can be manufactured on site to supply a 100% dense product
in any powder ( aluminium alloys, copper, titanium, tool steel, Stellite, superalloys and
carbides.
The above is an extreme example of how high pressure Argon, temperature and time influence
how porosity reacts within a casting.Our process was able to remove a 30mm
pore,
normally micro or macro porosity is the norm.
