Latest developments in high pressure heat treatment of aerospace components

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) has been used to remove shrinkage porosity and internal defects in cast products for many years, to improve mechanical properties and fatigue resistance. Of late, focus has moved to further improve thermal processing routes through innovative use of the heat and the inert gas pressure from the densification process. Studies have demonstrated significant benefits for production processes such as Additive Manufacturing (AM), casting and metal injection molding (MIM) where demands on quality are significant and where internal defects are an area of concern.