Direct Selective Laser Sintering and Containerless Hot Isostatic Pressing for High Performance Metal Components

A novel net shape manufacturing method known as SLSIHIP that combines the strengths of selective laser sintering (SLS) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is presented. Direct selective laser sintering is a rapid manufacturing technique that can produce high density metal components of complex geometry with an integral, gas impermeable skin. These components can then be directly post-processed to full density by containerless HIP. The advantages of in-situ HIP encapsulation include elimination of a secondary container material and associated container-powder interaction, reduced pre-processing time, a short HIP cycle and reduction in post-processing steps compared to HIP of canned parts. Results of research conducted on Inconel 625 superalloy, Ti-6AI-4V and Monel are presented. This research is funded by DARPAlONR contract N00014-95-C0139 titled "Low Cost Metal Processing Using SLSIHIP".