We use machines with inductive and direct heating for rapid consolidation with heating rates of 100 - 300 K/min. Our direct heating technology is also known as SPS - Spark Plasma Sintering or FAST - Field Assisted Sintering. The advantage of our machine is the large manufacturing electrode size of 350 x 350 mm and a processing height of 400 mm.
Direct hot pressing is, from its beginnings, a well approved and known technology, but the past decades were dominated by devices operated at temperatures of max. 1,400° C and mainly used for the consolidation of wear resistant inserts for cutting wheels, drill bits, or in grinding discs.
SPS (Spark Plasma Sintering) or FAST (Field Assisted Sintering) machines are other commercial names for this technology, typically further developed for hot pressing temperatures up to 2,400° C and even above. The big advantages are the rapid heating rates and the short processing cycles. This does not only lead to cost effective production, but also to interesting effects studied in fine grained microstructure and corresponding properties of the consolidated materials.
Therefore this technique can be effectively used for the consolidation of materials usually difficult to sinter. The technology is especially of advantage for high temperature materials, especially if fully dense or fine grained microstructures in combination with an excellent performance are required.
Direct hot pressing is characterised by a high heating/cooling rate (up to 400 K/min) and therefore offers a very attractive process for economic fabrication of high performance materials.
Typical Process Parameters
| Heating rate | 100 - 200 K/min (max 400 K/min) |
| Cooling rate | 100 - 200 K/min |
| Max. temperature | 2400 °C |
| Mech. pressure | 30 MPa |
| Atmospheres | Vac, Ar, N2, forming gas |
| Typical cycle | < 3 hrs |
Rapid Sinter Pressing
Single Segment Sinter Pressing is a technology used in the diamond cutting tool industry. RHP sees a big potential for this technology in a wide range of future products and focuses within its research studio austria on further necessary development of this process and equipment. We aspire to reach goals in producing new functional materials and evolution of this technology capable for materials sensitive to oxygen and also address the need of high processing temperatures exceeding on-the-market solutions.
RSP uses a permanently heated steel tool. The sample, which is precompacted in an automated cold press, is put into the hot die and sintered/compacted for 10 - 90 seconds. This procedure results in extremely high heating rates within the sample and a cycle time of seconds before the sintered sample is ejected and optionally quenched. We are looking forward to innovative ideas and realize your product within this fast and economic technology!
Typical Process Parameters
| Heating rate | 2000 - 6000 K/min |
| Cooling rate | 1000 - 5000 K/min |
| Max. temperature | 1000 °C |
| Mech. pressure | 200 MPa |
| Atmospheres | air (not protected) |
| Typical cycle | < 1 min |
