What are the benefits of the high pressure processing technology?

Modern HIP equipment from Quintus operates up to 2000⁰C (3632⁰F) and 200MPa (30,000 psi). The parameters chosen are material specific, and often an increased pressure can allow lower temperatures to be use, preserving the material microstructure. Of course the HIP cycle used should not exceed the melting temperature of the material to be treated.

The production series of warm isostatic battery presses are able to deliver pressures up to 600 MPa, while reaching temperatures of 150 degree Celsius (pressure media can be water or oil).

Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) entails subjecting components or powder in moulds to extreme isostatic pressure, up to 600 MPa (87,022psi) and at ambient temperature. Common pressure media include water, emulsion or oil and in some cases components my be bagged.

That depends on the cells design for an in-situ (or anode-free) lithium metal anode concept Quintus proposes a densification step of whole pouch cells. This position would fit the isostatic press after stacking and pouching.

Powder subjected to extreme pressure in a mould is compacted into a solid, with a density of up to 95% depending on the material.

Within the aerospace industry the use of high-pressure typically reduce, or even eliminate, the need for labor hand correction and the need for intermediate heat treatments.
In all applications the high-pressure support forming of complex and intricate shapes, at excellent repeatability and part quality.

The flexible diaphragm in the fluid cell press allows most kind of forming in block dies, cavity dies and expansion dies. Shallow/small tools may be mixed with high/large tools in one and the same forming operation. Undercuts, intricate shapes, as well as trimming and cutting may be performed by the fluid cell technology. The fluid cell press provides full pressure all over the tool surface, contrary to the rubber pad process where the pressure drops dramatically in the lower section of for example a block tool.

A failure is typically detected because the cycle time and the pressurization time is extended, causing a small leakage only. At worst, at a major failure, the tray may be filled by oil, but this is extremely unusual. The press will automatically decompress and evacuate the oil in the system to the tank. The operator can then close a manual valve at the main oil tank. A worn-out diaphragm is typically changed within four hours, having all replacement parts at hand.

The life depends on the used tool shapes, but typically in the order of tens of thousands of cycles. For some of the Quintus press models the diaphragm is also repairable, should the diaphragm accidentally be pierced or damaged by an operator error. A diaphragm exchange can be made in a few hours, having all replacement parts at hand.

Quintus is primarily a hardware provider, but do have a very strong application support team, providing training in the Flexform process, including tool design, forming and forming simulation on request.

During HPP the pressure reaches up to 6,000 bar (87,000 psi). At this pressure, products will compress approximately 15% of their volume, meaning that HPP packaging must be waterproof, hermetically sealed, and include materials which are flexible to withstand compressions of at least 15%. For these reasons, different plastic materials have traditionally been a popular choice for HPP since many of these are flexible enough to allow containers to compress without breaking and elastic enough to retake their original shapes after the process. Additionally, several sustainable alternatives can be used with HPP such as rPET, PP, PLA and other biodegradable solutions.

Commonly used packaging and materials for HPP include bottles, cups, pouches, trays, in combination with various types of films or closures. Sealing surfaces for films need to be relatively wide, uniform and preferably flat. Sealability (heat seal strength) is an important element for packaging that is subjected to HPP. Cross-hatched patterns are not suitable as they can allow oxygen
diffusion into the packages that will contribute to oxidative deterioration of products.

Definitely. HPP guarantees food safety and achieves an increased shelf life, while maintaining the optimum attributes of fresh products. In addition, HPP is highly recognized by numerous food safety authorities (FDA, EFSA…). Food safety is achieved by inactivating vegetative pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, molds, yeasts and parasites by applying 400 MPa (4000 bar/58,000 psi) to 600 MPa (6000 bar/87,000 psi), for a few seconds to around 6 minutes.

HPP is commercially used in wide range of foods and beverages such as ready-to-eat deli meats, fruit and dairy based drinks, baby foods, dairy products, pet food, ready meals, ready-to-cook marinated meats and meals, seafood, and wide variety of plant-based products including guacamole, hummus, salsa, ready-to-eat salads, tofu and plant-based protein meat analogues.

Most food and beverages are applicable for HPP technology. However, certain intrinsic and extrinsic factors are important in determining HPP conditions and satisfying regulatory rules and guidelines.

We support the customers throughout the complete HPP development process. From recipes to packaging to designing and providing in-house validation services. Our comprehensive evaluation and support is geared for getting your product in the market quickly.

Over the years we have developed our service level agreements; Quintus care in two main offers.

The base offer gives you support priority, remote tech support, application support (some countries this cannot be offered to), annual f2f trainings and annual maintenance, safety and reliability inspection.

Quintus care full additionally to the base also includes all spare parts for preventative maintenance, as well as covering spare parts if something unexpected happens (with some exceptions).

Being proactive about maintenance with a Quintus care contract keeps your costs planned and secures the best possible uptime for your system.

All our SLA’s contains 3 corner stones

• Mutual wish to cooperate i.e. 6 months termination for convenience if any party is not satisfied
• Strong incentives for both parties to improve uptime and utilization of the equipment
• Optimized split of scope to keep the life cycle costs to a minimum

This your choice. Some customers believes that they have a stronger negotiation position if they finalize SLA discussion prior to investment. Some appreciate to get guaranteed uptime also during the warranty period. Others wants to avoid establishing a spare stock and avoid to expend internal organization by signing a SLA early. The warranty in general covers issues during warranty. Preventative maintenance is still needed to start directly and go on also during the warranty period.

We are stocking some parts which, by experience, is used frequently. However, since we are providing customized capital equipment it is not feasible to stock all parts. Also, some parts are becoming obsolete and therefore takes extra time to find a replacement part. Being proactive in planning with parts to preventative maintenance, the lead time is in general less of an issue.

We have established 2 separate support lines, one in US and one in EU. Both can be used, depending on the time.

• techsupport@quintusteam.com, USA
• techsupport@quintusteam.se, EU and Asia