A Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) from Quintus Technologies has been installed at the Wallwork Group‘s new HIP Centre, set to open in Bury, England, in September 2023. The press is equipped with Quintus’ proprietary uniform rapid cooling (URC), a feature that delivers the high material uniformity required of parts designed for mission-critical applications, while enabling increased productivity with optimal temperature control according to Quintus.
Operating at a maximum temperature of 1250°C and pressure of 207 MPa, the press has a work zone measuring 800 mm in diameter and 2550 mm high, and a capacity of over 7000 kg per cycle.
Wallwork is an independent heat treatment, vacuum brazing, and advanced ultra-hard coatings company based in the UK. The company is expanding its thermal processing, an investment driven by ‘the upsurge in additive manufacturing’ according to the company. Wallwork says that AM has proven to play a pivotal role in producing components with improved material fatigue properties, ductility, structural integrity, and fracture toughness.
“HIP is extremely efficient at removing the porosity from AM parts made from metal powders. This densification process is often the only way for AM builds to fulfil their safety-critical potential,” said David Loughlin, Wallwork HIP Business Manager.
The QIL 173L press will also service Wallwork customers with applications requiring the densification of castings, forgings, and subtractive engineered components. Quintus says that HIP is well suited to parts with complex geometries, which can be processed to near-net shape, saving cost by reducing the need for further machining.
Wallwork’s 10 million GBP investment to prepare and equip the Bury HIP Centre is part of a 20 million GBP, five-year commitment to bolster its position as a single source provider of secondary processes for component manufacturers, from multiple facilities linked by an internal transport network.
“As the industry leader in high pressure for over 70 years, we have seen the need for Hot Isostatic Pressing increase steadily,” said Jan Söderström, CEO of Quintus Technologies. “Wallwork has a solid understanding of the value of this process, and we share a similar focus on customer-driven problem solving and long-term supplier partnerships. We are very pleased to see the establishment of their HIP Centre with our technology at its core.”
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