Hot Isostatic Pressing

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter explores about hot isostatic pressing (HIP). It is a materials fabrication process in which a starting powder or a premolded shape is simultaneously subjected to both high temperatures and high isostatic pressures, using a gas transfer medium. The principal factor that distinguishes HIP from other processing techniques is the use of gas as the pressure-transmitting medium to effect equivalent changes in three dimensions in the material that it surrounds. For successful HIP, three variables—pressure, temperature, and time—must be sufficiently controlled. The selection of an appropriate method of HIP is primarily dependent on the desired material properties, the component geometry, and acceptable manufacturing costs. Exploratory HIP studies have been conducted on other structural ceramics using glass encapsulation. The metals of Japan use HIP for essentially all their production of ferrites, because it provides greater uniformity from piece to piece within a batch and from batch to batch. With the success of HIP of ferrites, piezoelectrics, and ceramic tool materials in Japan, an increasing level of research and HIP of these and other materials will be conducted in the U.S.A and Europe.