Quintus Technologies’ new Hot Isostatic Press streamlines additive manufacturing

Swedish supplier of high pressure solutions Quintus Technologies has introduced a new Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) aimed at accelerating the additive manufacturing process by consolidating various steps in the production process. The new HIP model, QIH 60 M URC, comes with the company’s proprietary Uniform Rapid Cooling technology as well as its High Pressure Heat Treatment (HPHT) heating and cooling treatment. The new QIH 60 delivers faster throughput and offers superior work piece quality as well as cost, logistics and energy efficiency for the mass production of parts.

Within the additive manufacturing process, Hot Isostatic Pressing is employed to eliminate pores and internal defects from metal and ceramic printed parts. The method is capable of improving mechanical properties, including toughness and fatigue resistance. Quintus’ HIP and HPHT technique has become particularly interesting to industrial AM producers for its ability to stress relieve, heat treat and age parts in a single system. The consolidated process enables manufacturers to reduce the amount of equipment needed for post-processing and to streamline the manufacturing process even more.

The new QIH 60 was designed for easy integration with Industry 4.0 and is equipped with digital controls for precision heating and cooling operations. The press has a maximum temperature of 1400°C (2552°F) and pressure of 30,000 psi (2,070 bar) when using the molybdenum furnace. Quintus adds that there is also the option to use a graphite furnace, in which case the temperatures augment to 2000°C (3632°F).

Looking at some other specifications, the QIH 60 press has working dimensions of 410 x 1000 mm with a capacity of 600 kg per load, meaning that it can handle full build plates from most industrial 3D printers.

“HPHT introduces multiple efficiencies and dramatically lowers per-unit processing costs,” said Jan Söderström, CEO of Quintus Technologies. “We are very pleased with the role this new, state-of-the-art HIP can play in moving additive manufacturing forward into robust, lean production.”

Quintus’ HIP systems have been adopted by a number of industrial players, including FIT Additive Manufacturing Group, Paulo and others. The company’s novel wire-winding technology is fully governed by quality systems that comply with ASME U3 and CE (PED) quality standards.

The new HIP equipment is particularly well suited for materials that require rapid cooling or quenching after annealing as it can decrease lead times and reduce or even eliminate the need for outsourced treatments. Businesses that adopt the new HIP press system will be supported by a Quintus Care agreement that facilitates operational excellence and provides access to Quintus’ HIP application knowledge.