Avure Technologies, Franklin, Tenn., introduces hot isostatic presses equipped with new HIP quenching furnaces. Variable cooling and heating rates and pressure levels make it possible to precisely control the quality and mechanical properties of treated parts. They achieve a “super-plastic” behavior, where only compressive stresses exist, voids and cracks are eliminated, and post-treatment residual stresses are very low. It is even possible for designers to create entirely new materials with unique properties.
The Uniform Rapid Quenching (URQ) technology has evolved from the rapid cooling furnaces developed earlier by Avure, with new patented designs enabling a variety of programmed heat treatment (quenching) recipes as part of the HIP cycle.
Traditional salt bath and air cooling quench methods are limited in their ability to control temperature, and the non-uniform cooling shock can plastically deform the product. In addition, the product has to be transferred to separate quenching processes. With the URQ furnace, quenching is built in to the HIP cycle, saving time and processing cost.
Testing has revealed significant advantages over salt bath austempering: uniform quenching at cooling rates up to 4000°C per minute speeds cycle time. Controlled HIP pressure stabilizes close-packed austenite, thus improving hardness while avoiding pearlite formation. Yield strength is 5-10% higher, ultimate tensile strength improves by 5-7%, and A5 ductility increases dramatically by 47-93%.
