What is Warm Isostatic Pressing (WIP)?

Modern standard HIP equipment operates up to 2000 °C and 200 MPa pressure from argon or nitrogen gas. The parameters chosen are always material-specific, keeping in mind that the elevated pressure will lower the temperature needed to achieve the same effect in a pressureless environment. This can be utilized for e.g., minimizing grain growth in sintering, avoiding part surfaces sticking, controlling microstructures, etc.

Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) is a wet bag compaction method, subjecting compacted powders, enclosed by a flexible rubber mold, to extreme isostatic pressure to create optimum sintering/densification conditions. The most commonly used pressure media for CIP is water at ambient temperature.

CIP ensures homogeneous compaction of powder-based components and is especially beneficial for components having a high diameter to length ratio such as tube or rods shaped geometries for which uniaxial pressing will create a density gradient along the length of the part.

CIP is commonly used to ensure a homogenous powder green bodies for optimum sintering processes for metal alloys, refractory metals, brittle magnetic and ceramics, etc.

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.

Given the horizontal press design enabling one-directional material flow, the available range of large vessel volumes and existing automation solutions of our integration partners, the throughput of a high-volume production line will not be bottlenecked by the Warm Isostatic Pressing (WIP) process if sized correctly.

While we are open to different approaches and chemistries, the current focus is on sulfide solid electrolyte cells and the pouch cell format as these appear to have highest industrialization momentum.

Concepts such as “anode-free” designs, lithium metal anodes and dry-coated electrodes are very interesting for us on a production level of testing.

The Quintus warm isostatic battery presses are able to deliver pressures up to 600 MPa and temperatures of up to 145 °C.

Most commonly the warm isostatic processing step is located after pouching and sealing of the cell, enabling the press to be located outside of dry room conditions.

Although the battery industry is focused on pressing complete multilayer cells, it is also possible to press electrodes and solid electrolytes by themselves before stacking.

The cost of warm isostatic cell processing in GWh scale production is projected to be in the lower EUR cent area per kWh.

Please discover our latest findings in our white paper for more detailed information on cost aspects:
Whitepaper | Throughput and cost analysis of solid-state battery production | Quintus Technologies

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.

As a science based technology, HPP is not only fully recognized by global regulatory bodies as an antimicrobial process with superior capabilities for inactivating many food pathogens of concern, but also for slowing down the growth of spoilage bacteria, thereby extending refrigerated shelf life between 2-10 times longer than unprocessed foods.  Both these benefits alone can have a significant
impact on the global challenges of food safety and food waste.

Most conventional food processing methods such as heat and/or chemicals have negative effects on health and nutrition. Consumers are demanding high nutritional values in foods, particularly those present in fresh, raw, or minimally processed varieties. HPP does not affect nutritional components in foods largely because it has no effects on covalent bonds so HPP products maintain their vitamins and bioactive compounds.

Manufacturers using HPP eliminate chemical preservatives used to control microbial growth and reduce the frequency of food safety testing, thus satisfying the demand from customers for preservative-free foods, while reducing operational costs, hence delivering higher company values. HPP has thus become the process of choice among non-thermal food processing technologies. The
assurance of inactivating foodborne pathogens, post packaging, provides food and beverage manufacturers the business-critical food safety confidence for protecting their consumers, as well as ensuring that their brands and company reputations remain untarnished.

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.

Share your concerns with your dedicated account manager or through the Quintus customer web portal. This can help address specific issues and improve the service.

Ask for a review of the SLA terms to see if adjustments can be made to better meet your needs.

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.

Please contact us as below:

• EUROPE: techsupport@quintusteam.com
• AMERICA: support.us@quintusteam.com
• ASIA-PACIFIC: support.apac@quintusteam.com

or use our contact us form – Contact | Quintus Technologies.