A new, high-capacity hot isostatic press has been supplied to Bodycote, a supplier of testing and thermal processing services, by Avure Technologies Inc. Avure is a specialty manufacturer of high-pressure presses for densification of advanced materials and critical parts, as well as sheet forming equipment and high-pressure pasteurization systems.
The new HIP was delivered to Bodycote’s Northest regional service center in Camas, WA, where it joins a similar system installed by Camas in 1998. Both units rank as the largest such HIP units in the world.
According to Avure, each press has a work zone measuring 66 in. diameter and 100 in. long, and operate at pressures up to 15,000 psi and temperatures up to 2,300°F (1,260°C).
Bodycote’s Northwest regional service center is part of its U.S. network of HIP and heat-treating service centers operated by Bodycote, which process castings made of titanium, nickel, cobalt, iron-base superalloy, aluminum, and steel for commercial and aerospace applications. Using ultra-large HIPs allows Bodycote customers to outsource part densification and strengthening cost effectively, with no minimum lot size.
"Avure offered the best delivery time and most cost effective solution for expansion of our Camas facility and Global HIP network,” stated Ed Tenerini, Bodycote's president of North American HIP and director of European HIP. “The opportunity to duplicate an Avure system already in place in Camas allows us to reduce our inventory of spare parts, utilize tooling and furnaces in either unit, and facilitates training of personnel," he added.