U.K.-based thermal-processing services group Bodycote has started production at its expanded hot isostatic pressing (HIP) operation in Greenville, South Carolina. Bodycote commissioned additional HIP capacity to service the development and processing of advanced materials in the region, including the growing market for additive manufacturing.
Hot-isostatic pressing is a process that combines high temperatures and inert-gas (e.g., argon) atmospheres under very high pressure (up to 30,000 psi) to densify workpieces and/or to bond dissimilar materials. It’s used to treat castings, forgings, powder metal parts, and 3D-printed parts.
Bodycote operates the world’s largest network of HIP equipment, with more than 50 HIP vessels of varying sizes in multiple locations. Processing capability can accommodate components nominally up to 6.5 ft in diameter by 12 ft high, and weighing over 30,000kg.
The Greenville plant is a Nadcap-accredited site and an approved supplier of services to several OEM. The site consists of numerous vacuum furnaces, aluminum heat treatment, EDM, and other capabilities, for regional customers in aerospace, defense, power generation, medical and general industrial markets.
Nadcap — the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program — is an industry-managed conformity assessment program that draws expertise from prime contractors, suppliers, and government representatives to establish certification standards.