The additive manufacturing (AM) industry is increasing production rates and reducing costs to expand its use across more sectors. Techniques like multiple lasers in PBF-LB and optimizing melting speeds and powder layers are being used to crank up the deposition rate of PBF-processes. However, pushing the speed limits to much will eventually lead to detrimental build defects like pores, voids and lack of fusion (LoF)
Post-processing methods like Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) and High-Pressure Heat Treatment (HPHT™) are crucial for reliability in critical applications, such as space exploration. This whitepaper explores boosting AM build rates while maintaining quality, proposing that combining AM with HIP/HPHT can improve rates and component performance without extra costs. A “HIP for free” strategy is demonstrated through cost-benefit scenarios for high-volume production.
