What does Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) do for Platinum Castings?
- The HIP/ Hot Isostatic Pressing on Platinum eliminates sub-surface porosity in jewelry castings
- Makes platinum measurably stronger and more ductile due to the increased density
- Improves the speed and quality of bench operations through denser and more uniform microstructure
- Provides a more durable product for the consumer
HIP or “hot isostatic pressing” is a high-pressure thermal treatment that is commonly used on investment castings in quality-critical industries such as medical and aerospace. TechForm uses this process to create high quality castings for the jewelry industry. The HIP process involves placing the castings into a high-pressure vessel for a specified period of time with inert gas applying pressure at elevated temperatures. The result is densification, which happens when the metal’s creep resistance is surpassed and plastic flow enables the surrounding material to move into sub–surface voids. Time at temperature allows diffusional bonding to occur, which eliminates internal porosity.
Below are magnified images of ring cross sections showing the interior of a typical 950 PtRu casting before and after HIP. As one can easily see, almost no porosity is left after the HIP treatment.