Simple shape

Production of simple shape components by hot isostatically pressed (HIPed) metal, polymer, ceramic or composite powders produces ingots with superior initial material properties. These shapes are typically preforms for follow-on operations such as forging or extruding or for products that can be easily machined to final dimensions. Powder metallurgy (PM) HIP simple shapes also encompass HIP cladding which allows dissimilar materials to be bonded and co-extruded.

Benefits

• Powder metallurgy HIP allows shorter delivery times in comparison to conventional processing routes such as forging
• Isotropic mechanical properties exist due to small, uniform grain size and fine, evenly dispersed second phase particles
• Metal powder processing enables a higher alloy content than in traditionally melted and solidified alloys which results in superior materials properties
• Solid state processing method minimises segregation, thereby optimising corrosion resistance
• Enables creation of fully dense alloys and microstructures not obtainable by other fabrication methods
• Narrow scatter band of mechanical property variability in comparison to castings and forgings
• Powder metallurgy HIP provides increased wear resistance and toughness versus other production methods by achieving a fine, uniform carbide dispersion
• Achieves higher cutting speeds and longer lifetimes than conventionally processed tooling materials
• Powder metallurgy HIP can produce sleeved ingots of two different materials to be co-extruded

Application & materials

This powder metallurgy HIP ingot material is used in the tooling and other general industries, providing Bodycote customers with clean, optimised preform shapes for their secondary operations needs.

Powder metallurgy materials often allow a higher content of alloying elements than found in conventionally melted and solidified alloys. This makes superior properties such as wear and corrosion resistance possible via the PM HIP route. Bodycote’s expertise can encompass the entire process from capsule design and fabrication through powder encapsulation, densification and quality assurance operations.

Process details

The process of powder encapsulation and HIP produces a pore-free solid ingot without melting. This allows the formation of a small-grained homogeneous and isotropic microstructure with fine, evenly dispersed second phase particles