Welcome to Heat TreatToday’s This Week in Heat TreatSocial Media. As you know, there is so much content available on the web that it’s next to impossible to sift through all of the articles and posts that flood our inboxes and notifications on a daily basis. So, Heat TreatToday is here to bring you the latest in compelling, inspiring, and entertaining heat treat news from the different social media venues that you’ve just got to see and read!
We’re looking at the holiday posts, origami metal, and dad jokes about aluminum this week. Check it out!
“This technique uses lasers to apply highly localized heat treatment to temper-rolled stainless steel. It focuses on softening areas where material will need to bend. Robots then form the temper-rolled sheets into complex 3D shapes. The final forming hardens the structure in order to regain the original flat sheet’s strength.” (Thomas.net)
Click the image to watch or read about the heat treatment
2. Fascinating Heat Treat Comments and Discussions
I didn’t know social media could foster such in-depth content and comments! Have you seen these posts/shares from across social media?
3Din30: The Scary Truth About Heat Treatment Innovation
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Hyundai Heat Treat Case Study
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Nitriding Layers, from Pro Microstructure Photographer
3. And What Did You Do for New Year’s?
We saw a lot of you hard-working heat treaters posting on LinkedIn and Twitter during the break. Tsk tsk. Take the break! But we get it: we’re excited for 2022 with you, too!
4. What to Read
Want to have a heavier read for the weekend? Well okay. . .
An Overview of Heat Treatment in the Refining, Power, and Petrochemical Industry – Part 2: The Importance of Heat Treatment to Mechanical Integrity.
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Heat Treat Radio Special Videos
Did you watch the videos or just listen to these two podcasts? There is something different about when you watch something versus just listening. Sometimes, one is better than the other! Other times, you’re scratching your head waiting for the transcript to load. . .
Take a look at these two widely shared podcasts from 2021.
Heat Treat Tomorrow – Hydrogen Combustion: Our Future or Hot Air?: Click to –>Watch | Listen | Learn
The Future of Heat Treat, a Conversation with Piotr Zawistowski: Click to –>Watch | Listen | Learn
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“Industry 4.0 Implementation for Small and Medium-Sized Shops”
The privilege of unveiling the Heat Treat Today40 Under 40 Class of 2021 comes with the reality that not every one of the nominees could be included in the final count; even though each young, up-and-coming, talented heat treating professional whose name was submitted is making a significant difference in their field.
The individuals pictured are those we acknowledge in 2021 for their contribution to their company, their dedication of service to their customers, and their commitment to pursue skills and knowledge to further contribute to their field.
The 2021 Honorable Mentions
Daniel Dudar Absent Atmosphere Maintenance, Inc.
Nathan Howell S&C Electric Company
Justin Waldrop Paulo
Joshua Fuentes Bodycote Thermal Processing, Inc.
Heat Treat Today will be back next year looking for rising leaders in the 40 Under 40 Class of 2022. We encourage you to consider the talented young professionals in the heat treating sphere, especially in the captive heat treatment industry, who deserve this recognition for their leadership. You can begin the process right now: Click here to nominate a young professional for Summer 2022.
"We want to make sure our customers succeed, and we do that by bringing our unique approach to every job." These are words that describe the mission of Paulo, a company whose areas of expertise reside in heat treating, brazing and metal finishing.
A family business founded in 1943 by Ben and Pauline Rassieur in St. Louis, Missouri, Paulo now employs 400 people and provides almost every form of heat treatment as well as zinc plating and phosphating, black oxide, brazing, and hot isostatic pressing (HIP)—their most recent addition.
(left to right) Scott Russ, William Rassieur, and Scott Herzing
The company’s large metallurgical engineering staff performs testing, process development and improvement, and compiles metallurgical reports. Through the strategic location of their six facilities and the varied processes offered, they are equipped to partner with organizations up and down the supply chain to handle everything from overnight tool and die work to millions of pounds of production work for a variety of industries all with the support of their control systems and built-in contingency planning.
A few of the services they offer are through hardening, carburizing, nitriding/FNC, solution treating/aging, austempering, and HIPing. A few of the equipment capabilities include integral quench, mesh belt, vacuum, tip-ups, and HIP.
An important heat treating capability that helps them to succeed in the company’s mission is the ability to collect data and control furnace conditions in order to deliver consistent repeatable results. Additionally, as the largest privately held heat treater in North America, they can invest to support customer’s growth as they did recently in Monterrey, Mexico, announcing a large expansion that will double the square footage.
Derek Denlinger Paulo
Paulo has heat treated interesting and memorable parts, from those used in space and on airplanes to those that supported PPE during the pandemic. Two that had big impacts on the company’s trajectory was the brazing of 106mm artillery shells and fuel pump housings.
"Datagineering" is a word the company created to explain the blending of the best in automation, data, and human expertise. As they look to the future, their continued implementation of the company-coined verb will aid in supporting customers, continuing overall improvement, and developing technically to push boundaries and deliver the best results.
Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) has been a player in heat treating for 50 years, but recent advances in its technology are providing cutting edge opportunities for new applications in the thermal processing industry.
Heat Treat Today asked two experts in the HIPing world about the state of hot isostatic pressing: What are the latest technologies and where are its potential growth markets in the thermal processing industry? They represent both sides of HIPing – one from a HIP equipment manufacturer and the other from a HIP process/service provider. Each gives a unique perspective on the HIP market and the industry itself.
Our expert contributors are Chad Beamer, an applications engineer in Hot Isostatic Pressing, at QuintusTechnologies, a high pressure technology company, and Derek Denlinger, a corporate lead metallurgist at Paulo, a thermal processes and metal finishing operations company. This Original Content Technical Tuesday article was taken from 2020 Q4 Heat Treat Todayprint magazine.
What is HIP?
Derek Denlinger Corporate Lead Metallurgist Paulo
Paulo’s Derek Denlinger says, “Hot isostatic pressing is fundamentally, when parts simultaneously see high temperature (in some cases as much as 2500oF) and very high pressure (up to 30,000psi) from all directions for a duration of time.”
Chad Beamer Applications Engineer – Hot and Cold Isostatic Pressing Quintus Technologies LLC
Chad Beamer of Quintus adds, “Pressure-based compaction processes can be used to establish density by applying a uniaxial pressure within rigid dies. Such mechanical or hydraulic approaches can produce non-complex parts or ‘green’ compacts. Although a cost-effective and high-throughput technique, these conventional presses exhibit geometrical limitations and compressibility constraints, yielding product that is not uniform in density and microstructure.”
“Isostatic pressing was developed with the desire to improve upon these shortcomings,” continues Beamer. “Such compaction techniques leverage Pascal’s law by using a fluid contained in a pressure vessel, either in the liquid or gas state, to transmit equal pressure in all directions on the surface of a workpiece.”
Beamer further explains, “Various isostatic pressing techniques exist today such as cold isostatic pressing (CIP), warm isostatic pressing (WIP), and hot isostatic pressing (HIP). HIP is a heat treatment process that utilizes isostatic pressure via a gas at high temperatures. It is commonly used to consolidate metal or ceramic powder and to reduce defects present in castings and additively manufactured parts. The output is a product with improved mechanical properties, workability, and reliability.”
Pore eliminated before and after HIP process
What happens in the HIPing process?
Denlinger explains, “In the HIPing process, parts are heated to a temperature high enough to weaken material strength. High pressure, usually applied through a pressurized gas medium such as argon, applies a compressive stress onto the part from every direction. Given a hold period of time, this compression effectively allows for internal voids or pores to close up due to a mixture of mechanical deformation, creep, and metallic diffusion. The part consolidation sets the stage for any other heat treatment that may follow in order to maximize material performance.”
Since the densification of the workpiece is achieved by the simultaneous application of pressure and elevated temperature during HIP, Beamer adds, “Temperatures are usually in the range of 900oF-3600oF (500o-2000oC) depending on the material being HIPed. A good rule of thumb is a temperature targeting approximately 80% of the materials solidus temperature. Pressures in the vessel can reach twice that of the pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, generally in the range of 15,000-30,000 psi (100-200MPa). The combined temperature and pressure applied should be capable of exceeding the yield strength of the material.”
Latest HIP Technologies
Both Beamer and Denlinger share optimism about the new HIP advancements, especially the new high pressure heat treatment (HPHT).
Beamer states, “A recent development in HIP technology is the ability to perform rapid gas cooling and quenching in the HIP system. Originally developed to shorten cycle time, this advancement is now being leveraged to perform many of the standard heat treatments for metals in the HIP furnace. Now a single piece of equipment can be used to apply both HIP and heat treatment, all carried out in one cycle. This approach is referred to as high pressure heat treatment (HPHT). Benefits to this new treatment include:
the ability to remove an additional process step and piece(s) of equipment
more cost-effective manufacturing path
fewer times a component must be heated up
less time spent at elevated temperature
elimination of the risk of thermally induced porosity (blistering) in additively manufactured parts
“These modern systems are continuing to evolve with other promising advancements such as steered cooling. This controlled cooling approach within a HIP vessel allows cooling rates for a component to be optimized in order to achieve the desired microstructure. These advancements are quite exciting for many industries as they are expanding the design windows for material systems and creating new opportunities within a HIP system.”
“HIP has been around commercially for around 50 years,” Denlinger points out, “but more recent technology has been focused on better control of thermal aspects of the process. This is opening the doors for more fine-tuned ‘high pressure heat treatment’ processing that can offer speed and, in some cases, performance benefits that were previously not possible. These types of processes have often been coupled with the ever-growing additive manufacturing processes, though applications to more traditional manufacturing methods are gaining momentum. The influence of pressure on diffusion and transformation in materials has been identified, but not fully explored for many alloys, so new high pressure heat treatments are now being considered to compete with traditional HIP and heat treatment methods.”
What is HIP’s niche in the thermal processing industry? Who are its customers? Where do you see potential growth markets?
HIP implants
According to both men, the future is bright for HIPing.
Beamer explains why specific industries choose HIPing: “HIP is often desired where the risk of failure is not an option. Therefore, it is not surprising that HIP is commonplace in aerospace, energy, and medical industries. Applications within these industries include densification of products, consolidation of powder, diffusion bonding, as well as HPHT. For the aerospace industry, HIP is used to remove porosity from nickel-base and titanium-base castings as well as defects present in additively manufactured parts. The medical industry applies HIP to improve the quality and durability for cobalt chrome and titanium implants. HIPing of large and complex near-net-shape powder metal components to achieve fully densification is routine in the energy industry.”
Denlinger agrees, “HIP has most often been used for fatigue benefits, which is an important performance criterion in the aerospace industry. This remains in the scope, but applications in other sectors are growing due to the adoption of additive manufacturing. Oil and gas, medical, manufacturing equipment, space, firearms, and other industries are increasing their use of HIP and high-pressure heat treatment. Partnering with companies to explore additive manufacturing solutions with both HIP and traditional heat treatment in our arsenal has been very successful; challenging the status quo with the latest HIP technology and our expertise in heat treatment has been a great learning experience.
Regarding market expansion for HIP, Beamer shares, “Potential growth markets for HIP include medical, defense, space, automotive and the ongoing developments with additively manufactured applications. The medical industry is showing growth with an aging population coupled with a cultural shift to living a more active lifestyle. Another trend within the medical industry is to insource HIP versus going through a supplier, which can offer process optimization opportunities and increased quality control.”
The future of HIP technology is likely to include the automotive industry.
Beamer continues, “Growth for HIP in the defense industry can be attributed to strong government funding, such as the development work being done through America Makes. One of the most exciting growth markets here in the US is space, in which many high-profile companies are showing interest in HIP and HPHT technologies.
“Although the HIP process is not typically characterized as a high-volume process,” Beamer concludes, “the automotive industry is finding its benefits useful for cast engine blocks and emerging technology such as binder jet applications. Despite the present challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically within the civil aerospace industry, there are many exciting growth opportunities for HIP.”
(All photos in this article provided by Quintus Technologies)
About the Authors:
Chad Beamer has a MS from the Ohio State University in Material Science and has worked as a material application engineer with GE Aviation for 7 years and as a technical services manager with Bodycote for 5 years. In February, Chad began working with Quintus Technologies as an application engineer for the Advanced Material Densification division focusing on hot isostatic pressing (HIP). As an applications engineer, he manages the HIP Application Center located in Columbus, Ohio, educates on the advancements of HIP technologies, and is involved in collaborative development efforts both within academia and industry.
Derek Denlinger is the corporate lead metallurgist at Paulo. Derek has a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from Missouri S&T in Rolla. He started in the foundry industry before transitioning to heat treatment at Paulo where he has been for the past 5 years. The past two years, Derek has been focused on additive manufacturing and hot isostatic pressing assisting with Paulo’s entry into the HIP market.
The privilege of unveiling the Heat Treat Today40 Under 40 Class of 2020 comes with the reality that not every one of the nominees could be included in the final count; even though each young, up-and-coming, talented heat treating professional whose name was submitted is making a significant difference in their field.
The individuals pictured are those we acknowledge in 2020 for their contribution to their company, their dedication of service to their customers, and their commitment to pursue skills and knowledge to further contribute to their field.
The 2020 Honorable Mentions
Michael Brant Contour Hardening
David Chirichello Bodycote
Derek Denlinger Paulo
Daniel Dudar Absent Atmosphere Maintenance, Inc.
Julio Fernandez Bodycote Thermal Processing, Inc.
Jardin Harrington Bodycote
Tom Hart SECO/VACUUM Technologies LLC
Cory Husemann Paulo
Ryan McCauley Contour Hardening
Adler Moldenhauer President Vectorr Industries LLC
Vishal Nakhate Bodycote Rochester
Scott Roberts Bodycote Thermal Processing, Inc.
Heat Treat Today will be back next year looking for rising leaders in the 40 Under 40 Class of 2021. We encourage you to consider the talented young professionals in the heat treating sphere, especially in the captive heat treatment industry, who deserve this recognition for their leadership. You can begin the process right now: Click here to nominate a young professional for Summer 2021.
What is HIP? Hint: It doesn’t mean you are fashionable or trendy! In this HTT original content Technical Tuesday feature, Derek Denlinger, corporate lead metallurgist for Paulo who has recently been focusing on heat treatment for additive manufacturing and hot isostatic pressing, shares how this process can improve mechanical characteristics of high-performance additive manufactured components.
Additive manufacturing has steadily asserted itself as a viable method for producing complex components in aerospace, medical, and other high-performance applications. And if you hang out in metallurgy circles (who wouldn’t want to?), you can’t hear “additive manufacturing” without also hearing about hot isostatic pressing, or HIP. That’s because the HIP process, which applies high heat and high pressure to densify parts, has shown promise in improving the mechanical characteristics of high-performance additive manufactured components.
But while that’s the most popular use case for HIP, it’s far from the only one.
HIP Applications
HIP is recently popular thanks to the prevalence of additive manufacturing for high-performance aerospace parts or medical devices like artificial hips, but the process is over 60 years old.
HIP was initially developed as a diffusion bonding technique. In diffusion bonding, high heat and pressure work together to weld similar or dissimilar metal surfaces without filler materials. However, metallurgists observed that those process characteristics also improved mechanical performance by eliminating casting porosity — the small bubbles of gas that can form during the solidification process of cast metals — and imparting a homogenous grain structure throughout the whole part. Porous parts or parts with variable grain structures are less durable and cannot stand up to the stress of severe service.
A similar phenomenon occurs during an additive manufacturing process called powder bed fusion. Powder bed fusion naturally leaves small voids within parts. Those small voids can cause big problems if they aren’t eliminated.
In addition to use alongside additive manufacturing and diffusion bonding of parts, HIP is typically specified as a densification process complementary to powder compaction and sintering as well as metal injection molding. It’s most often specified in aerospace, medical and dental, oil and gas, power generation, firearm, and jewelry manufacturing.
Materials Ideal for HIP
A wide array of materials can be HIP’ed in the high-pressure argon environment a unit creates. Such an atmosphere is ideal for:
Carbon steel
Tool steels
Duplex, martensitic, and austenitic stainless steels
Nickel-based alloys
Cobalt-based alloys
Titanium
The author, Derek Denlinger, in front of the HIP vessel
HIP Advantages
A common critique of HIP among some manufacturers is that it’s a costly, unnecessary, extra step in the manufacturing process. The word “overkill” comes to mind, and it’s true that some thermal processors aggressively market the process to manufacturers who make parts for which HIP may not be a metallurgical necessity. But when it’s appropriately specified, HIP gives manufacturers several compelling advantages both upstream and downstream in their production process.
Design & Manufacturing Freedom – Some parts feature highly complex shapes that are too complicated for traditional forging or casting. In response, manufacturers have either sacrificed performance with watered-down designs or added costly processing time by designing parts in pieces and then joining them via brazing. But the pressurized gas used in HIP finds its way into internal passages and blind features of complex parts, ensuring they achieve specified metallurgical characteristics while reducing the traditional failure risks.
Mechanical Characteristics – HIP has been shown to enhance key mechanical characteristics such as ductility, toughness, yield strength, and corrosion resistance. Fatigue, impact, wear, and abrasion resistance can also improve. Metallurgists have also observed that HIP’ed parts end up with less “data scatter.” Reducing data scatter enables design engineers to more accurately understand material performance and to know more precisely where the material’s limit exists. They can then design according to that known information.
Optimized Manufacturing – Whether parts are additive manufactured, cast, or forged, integration of HIP can streamline manufacturing. First, the combination of additive plus HIP’s densifying and solution treating capabilities mean more manufacturing stages can be accomplished in fewer steps. Second, manufacturers concerned about porosity can allow it to occur knowing that HIP can correct the issue.
Simultaneous Treatment – Older hot isostatic presses were typically designed with thicker walls which impeded quick cooling. That eliminated simultaneous treatment from the equation (and led some to believe the process was unsafe). Rapid quenching is built into many modern HIP models, allowing simultaneous heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing. The resulting time savings is significant. Improved performance of parts treated in this manner has also been observed.
Reducing Scrap – There’s always variability in manufacturing; the risk of scrapping some parts is ever-present. But HIP can help reduce scrap in two ways. First, it can be incorporated into regular production of parts with tricky designs to make up for potential upstream process deficiencies. Second, it can be applied as needed if a one-off problem occurs in a single batch. In either case, the potential savings are compelling.
Hot isostatic pressing is creating new possibilities for manufacturers of high-performance parts. For example, the Quintus Technologies QIH 122 unit was installed into Paulo’s Cleveland Division. The rapid cooling capability of the HIP vessel is comparable to vacuum furnace quenching. These properties make it possible to HIP and solution treat parts simultaneously, imparting decidedly better metallurgical properties while reducing turnaround time.
Paulo recently installed this Quintus Technologies QIH 122 rapid cooling hot isostatic press in its Cleveland, Ohio facility.
Welcome to Heat Treat Today’s This Week in Heat Treat Social Media. As you know, there is so much content available on the web that it’s next to impossible to sift through all of the articles and posts that flood our inboxes and notifications on a daily basis. So, Heat Treat Today is here to bring you the latest in compelling, inspiring, and entertaining heat treat news from the different social media venues that you’ve just got to see and read!
"We want to make sure our customers succeed, and we do that by bringing our unique approach to every job." These are words that describe the mission of Paulo, a company whose areas of expertise reside in heat treating, brazing and metal finishing.
