High Pressure Heat Treatment Capability Accelerates
Västerås, Sweden, April 20, 2021 – With the deployment of a QIH 60 M URC™ Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) from Quintus Technologies, Canada’s Burloak Technologies is pushing the limits of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to deliver new levels of mechanical performance and strength properties in parts for mission-critical applications.
As a full-service additive manufacturer, Burloak works with the most innovative companies in the space, aerospace, automotive, and industrial markets to rapidly transition their most challenging part designs to be additively manufactured at scale. The High Pressure Heat Treatment™ (HPHT™) capability of the new QIH 60 facilitates this rapid transition. Combining high pressure, heat treatment, and cooling in a single process makes it possible to remove several operations from the AM production line, generating significant savings in both cost and time.
Equipped with the world’s fastest fan-driven cooling system, the QIH 60 can achieve an unprecedented peak gas cooling rate of > 1500K/min, “rates that have never been seen before,” states Ed Williams, General Manager – Americas, Quintus Technologies. The press’s highly customizable cooling cycle can be programmed to stop at a specific temperature while maintaining the desired pressure set point. Rapid cooling under pressure minimizes thermal distortion and non-uniform grain growth in components, producing finished parts with optimal material properties. It also allows Burloak to significantly increase production.
“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,” comments 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 16.14 x 39.37 inches (410 x 1,000 mm), an area large enough to process any component printed on most powder bed machines, Mr. Adams notes. It operates at a maximum temperature of 2,552°F (1,400°C) and maximum pressure of 207 MPa (30,000 psi).
The choice of the Quintus system was the result of a “rigorous, multi-year review of available technologies, particularly given its safety systems, innovative control logic, and rapid component cooling capabilities,” Mr. Adams observes. “We found the press to be unrivaled, and with its addition we will be able to offer the industry’s most comprehensive set of additive manufacturing services and processing capabilities.”
Burloak also joined the Quintus® Care Program, becoming part of a community dedicated to the application of modern HIP technology to the possibilities that Additive Manufacturing brings. The Quintus Care Program also offers a rigorous preventative maintenance agreement that ensures flawless production, operation, and press performance at a fixed annual cost. Regular recertification of Burloak personnel and inspections will ensure highest reliability and availability.
“Burloak aims to push the frontier of Hot Isostatic Pressing with the help of the new press,” says 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 program.”
About Quintus Technologies
Quintus Technologies is the global leader in high pressure technology. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and supports high pressure systems for sheet metal forming and densification of advanced materials. Quintus has delivered over 1,900 systems to customers within industries such as aerospace, automotive, energy, and medical implants. The company is headquartered in Västerås, Sweden, with a presence in 45 countries worldwide. For more information, visit https://quintustechnologies.com/
About Burloak Technologies
A leader in the additive manufacturing industry, Burloak Technologies provides engineering and design services for additive manufacturing, materials development, high precision CNC machining, post-processing and metrology. Burloak works with the most innovative companies in the space, aerospace, automotive and industrial markets to rapidly transition their most challenging part designs to be additively manufactured at scale. The Company is registered to AS9100D, ISO9001 and is Canada Controlled Goods Approved. Burloak Technologies is a division of Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, a family-owned integrated network of metal manufacturing, processing and distribution divisions. For more information, visit www.Burloaktech.com.
Source: Quintus Technologies
