Vacuum Hot Pressing

By utilizing a vacuum in our hot-pressing we can increase the temperature of materials to a point that would vaporize them at nominal pressure but within a vacuum, slightly melt and densify with pressure. This process of heating and/or pressing a porous material into a solid mass is referred to as sintering, coming from Old German ‘sinter‘ related to the English word ‘cinder’. The process is useful for all types of materials from ceramics, metals, and plastics, and vacuum sintering is especially useful for metals like tungsten and molybdenum which have very high melting points.

Aside from Sintering, we also offer Diffusion Bonding services. This process includes two materials the customer wants to fuse together and is typically used in joining high-strength, and refractory metals like Tantalum, Tungsten, Rhenium, Molybdenum, and Niobium which are unfit for liquid fusion. It’s also perfect for materials that form quick oxides with air, as the process is completed in a vacuum. Each material is fitted into the press and ‘sandwiched’ together under tight temperature and pressure specifications. 

Finally, if you need something Vacuum Hot Pressed and already know your parameters, send us a request for Toll Hot Pressing. Our technicians will load your material, and follow ramp up, down, and hold times per your instructions. Just because you don’t own a hot press doesn’t mean you can’t use one, especially when your friends with SCI!