High Pressure Heat Treatment of AM Parts—Combining HIP and Heat Treatment

The production process for additively manufactured (AM) metal parts can involve as many as four post processing steps: stress relief, hot isostatic pressing, solution treatment and quench, and tempering or aging. In this paper, the author describes a post processing route for AM parts that combines stress relief, hot isostatic pressing, and solution treatment and quench into a single thermal cycle immediately followed by tempering or aging. The combination of processes is called high pressure heat treatment (HPHT), the benefits of which include shorter total effective cycle time, less downtime between steps, and lower energy consumption.