Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) Equipment

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) is a material processing method that compresses materials by simultaneously applying high temperature of several hundreds to 2000℃ and isostatic pressure of several tens to 200 MPa. Argon is the most widely used pressure medium.
Hot pressing is very similar to HIP. Milling, forging, extrusion also apply high temperature and pressure, but not isostatic pressure unlike HIP.

Medium and Large-Scale HIP Equipment

Large equipment for production facilities and medium-sized equipment that is easy to handle
Standard Small-Scale HIP Equipment

Standard small-scale equipment that is easy to handle
Dr. Series

Space-saving CIP equipment for R&D
Ultra High Temperature / Ultra High Pressure HIP Equipment

HIP equipment with a pressure of 1.00 GPa is also available.
Other HIP Equipment

Other HIP equipment, such as gas impregnation equipment and insulation HIP equipment.
Metal Capsule Manufacturing Equipment

This equipment is used to manufacure capsels using 100 to 300µm-thick metal foil.
Compound Semiconductor Single Crystal Manufacturing Equipment

We have developed single crystal manufacturing equipment using the high pressure vertical Bridgman (VB) method.D5:D12D4:D12D5:D12D18D6:D12D6:D12

Difference between HIP and Hot Pressing

HIP applies isostatic pressure to materials using gas pressure, while hot pressing applies only uniaxial pressure.

To explain the difference of HIP and hot pressing clearly, suppose that HIP or hot pressing is applied to Material A (metal with pores inside) and Material B (metal with uneven ends).

In the case of HIP, Material A, as shown in Figure 1, will contract keeping its initial shape until pores inside disappear, and bond together due to diffusion effects. On the other hand, Material B undergoes no shape change at all because uniform pressure is applied to the uneven edges.
In the case of hot pressing, the same phenomena as the case of HIP occur to Material A, which is shown in Figure 2. Material B, however, can't keep its initial uneven shape because pressure is applied only to the convex portions. Both Material A and Material B will have different final shapes after hot pressing depending on shapes of a mold and a punch used. Fabrication of large products and moldings under high temperature might be difficult due to ununiformity caused by friction force with a mold, as well as temperature and demention constraints depending on the strength of mold materials.

Compared to hot pressing, HIP can maintain material shapes that are not much different from the original after pressure. Even after altering shape, the material can keep its original shape, and will have less restrictions in product processing. Because of these benefits, HIP has been applied in various fields.

Figure 1: HIP
Figure 2: Hot pressing

Pressure Medium Gas (Argon Gas) under High Pressure

Argon gas at 1000℃ and under pressure of 98 MPa is likely to cause intense convection due to its low density and viscosity coefficient (30% and 15% of water, respectively), as well as high thermal expansion coefficient. Therefore, HIP equipment's heat transfer coefficient is higher than that of a typical electronic furnace.

HIP Applications

HIP is applied in a wide range of fields as follows:

  1. 1Pressure sintering of powder
  2. 2Diffusion bonding of different types of materials
  3. 3Removal of residual pores in sintered items
  4. 4Removal of inner defects of castings
  5. 5Rejuvenation of parts damaged by fatigue or creep
  6. 6High pressure impregnated carbonization method
Applied Technology Practical Application Material under Study
Pressure sintering of powder PM high speed steel (jigs), Ni-based superalloys (engine turbine discs), Ti alloys (aircraft components), Cr (target) Ti-Ni alloy, amorphous metal, Si3N4, SiC
Diffusion bonding(Production of composites) Nuclear fuel assemblies (nuclear reactors), B fiber-Al alloy composites (space shuttle struts), various corrosion/abrasion-resistant alloy composite parts (valves for corrosive gas, mill roll, cylinders for injection molding machines etc.) SiC-Al alloy composites, Nb3Sn-copper, Si3N4-stainless steel
Removal of residual pores in sintered items Cemented carbide (jigs), Al2O3(cutting tools), Al2O3-TiC (cutting tools), soft ferrites (magnetic head), Si3N4 (bearings and ceramics structure) SiC, PSZ, ZnSe
Removal of inner defects of castings Al alloys, Ni-base superalloys (jet engine turbine blades), Ti alloys (aircraft components), 17-4PH stainless steel  
Rejuvenation of parts damaged by fatigue or creep Superalloy precision castings (gas turbine blades)  
High pressure impregnated carbonization method Carbon composites  

HIP Treatment

Materials require various HIP treatments according to their characteristics. The most common methods are the Capsule Method and Capsule Free Method.

The Capsule Method, as shown in the right figure, is to carry out HIP after enclosing powder or a body molded from powder in a gastight capsule and evacuating the capsule.

The Capsule Method can achieve high densification even for materials that are difficult to sinter using conventional sintering techniques. This makes it the most commonly adopted pressure sintering process for powder materials. It is also used for diffusion bonding of different types of materials and high pressure impregnated carbonization processes.

The table below gives a list of main materials for capsule free methods and HIP treatment temperature/pressure.

Materials for capsule free methods

Material Temperature Pressure
Powder high-speed steel 1,000 to 1,200℃ to 100MPa
Ni base alloy 1,170 to 1,280℃ 100 ～ 150MPa
Ti alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) 880 to 960℃ to 100MPa
Cr 1,200 to 1,300℃ to 100MPa
Cu Alloy 500 to 900℃ to 100MPa
Al Alloy 350 to 500℃ to 100MPa
Cemented carbide (WC-Co) 1,300 to 1,350℃ 30 to 100MPa
Ti Ba O3 1,000 to 1,200℃ to 100MPa
PZT 950 to 1,150℃ to 100MPa
Ni-Zn-ferrite 1,050 to 1,180℃ to 100MPa
Mn-Zn-ferrite 1,180 to 1,250℃ to 100MPa
Al2O3 1,350 to 1,450℃ to 100MPa
Y-PSZ (yttria partially-stabilized zirconia) 1,350 to 1,500℃ to 100MPa
Si3N4-Al2O3-Y2O3 1,700 to 1,800℃ to 100MPa
SiC 1,950 to 1,050℃ 100 to 200MPa

Meanwhile, if the pores inside the material are isolated, closed off, and not connected to the surface of the material, these pores are squashed and eliminated by HIP treatment. On the other hand, open pores that connect with the surface of the material are not squashed even after HIP treatment. Therefore, HIP treatment to the material with the closed pores can achieve high densification throughout entire material.

Such materials do not require capsules for HIP treatment, which is known as the Capsule Free Method. This method is used to remove residual pores from sintered items, remove inner defects of castings, and rejuvenate parts damaged by fatigue or creep.

HIP Effects

HIP treatment to castings can improve creep fracture lifetime by 1.3 to 3.5 times, elongation, and contraction, depending on the types of alloys, as shown in the Table below.

Alloy State Test Conditions Lifetime Elongation Contraction
Temperature Stress
IN738 Casting 1,253K 152MPa 68.4x103sec 11.8% 20.0%
Casting+HIP 1,253K 152MPa 189.0x103sec 20.5% 20.6%
Rene77 Casting 1,253K 152MPa 183.6x103sec 19.4% 37.0%
Casting+HIP 1,253K 152MPa 244.8x103sec 22.0% 55.0%
IN792 Casting 1,143K 310MPa 630.0x103sec 9.2% 6.5%
Casting+HIP 1,143K 310MPa 1,018.8x103sec 12.1% 22.0%
Rene80 Casting 1,143K 310MPa 149.4x103sec 2.5% 2.5%
Casting+HIP 1,143K 310MPa 507.6x103sec 11.5% 17.0%
Reference: G. W. Wasielewski and N. R. Lindblad: Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Superalloys (1972)

Contact Us

You can reach us by clicking the inquiry button.

Inquiry
  1. TOP
  2. Products & Services
  3. Machinery
  4. Isostatic Pressing (IP) Equipment
  5. Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) Equipment