forge et fonderie

HIP

Hot Isostatic Pressing or HIP allows to produce parts with complex shapes and mechanical characteristics comparable or even better to those obtained by forging.

Stainless steels (for example duplex and super-duplex) and super-alloys (as Inconel 625), first reduced to metal powder state, are compacted in a capsule made of low carbon steel in the shape of the intended piece.

Hot compression occurs in a closed volume where the pressure reaches 1000 bars and temperature 1000°C, without reaching the melting point of the material.

This process produces a finer grain than that obtained by forging. Mechanical and metallurgical properties are obtained with cooling and with the subsequent quality heat treatments.

 

 

Hot Isostatic Pressing involves an isometric reduction of the dimensions of the piece (capsule included) which leads to a machining process to remove this envelope that has contained the powder during the isostatic compression.

The alloys obtained are extremely pure guaranteeing for example the best resistance to corrosion and oxidation (duplex resistance to HISC, Hydrogen Induced Stress Cracking).

Hot Isostatic Pressing (or HIP) produces mechanical characteristics with no major flow direction (isotropic properties), allowing in this way the best design and optimization of thicknesses and geometries.

Another advantage of the HIP process is the possibility to use differente grades in the same part, thanks to the bonding properties of the metal powders subjected to this process.



 

Materials used in HIP