Burloak Technologies adds Quintus Hot Isostatic Press for treatment of AM parts
April 20, 2021
Burloak Technologies, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, a division of Samuel, Son & Co., Ltd., has added a QIH 60 M URC™ Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) from Sweden’s Quintus Technologies. The HIP system is to be used to deliver high levels of mechanical performance and strength properties in additively manufactured parts, destined for mission-critical applications.
As a full-service Additive Manufacturing provider, Burloak works with companies in the space, aerospace, automotive and industrial markets to rapidly transition challenging part designs to be additively manufactured at scale. Combining high pressure, heat treatment, and cooling in a single process, the QIH 60 makes it possible to remove several operations from the AM production line, generating savings in both cost and time.
Said to incorporate the world’s fastest fan-driven cooling system, the QIH 60 can achieve a peak gas cooling rate of > 1500K/min, “rates that have never been seen before,” stated Ed Williams, General Manager – Americas, Quintus Technologies.
The press’s highly customisable cooling cycle can also be programmed to stop at a specific temperature while maintaining the desired pressure set point. Rapid cooling under pressure minimises thermal distortion and non-uniform grain growth in components, producing finished parts with optimal material properties.
“This capability is critical for Burloak as a full-service supplier for all customers, and, in particular, for the development of high-strength flight components,” added Peter Adams, the company’s founder and Chief Innovation Officer. “Without this in-house capability, outsourcing this process would slow down our project timelines, add complexity to our processes, and risk damaging critical customer components as they would need to be shipped internationally.”
The model QIH 60 press features a hot zone of 410 x 1000 mm, an area large enough to process any component additively manufactured on most powder bed AM machines. It operates at a maximum temperature of 1400°C and a maximum pressure of 207 MPa.
“Burloak aims to push the frontier of Hot Isostatic Pressing with the help of the new press,” commented Jan Söderström, CEO of Quintus Technologies. “We are very pleased to be chosen as their strategic partner in furthering the development of Additive Manufacturing, and we look forward to sharing our applications expertise through our Quintus Care programme.”
