Marialaura Tocci is senior researcher in the metallurgy group of the University of Brescia. The research activities mainly focus on the characterization of microstructural and mechanical properties of innovative aluminium and non-ferrous alloys. Among the various studies on the optimization of heat treatments, she studied the effect of HIP and High-Pressure heat treatments on Al alloys produced using additive manufacturing and high pressure die casting.
Authors of more than 30 papers on peer-reviewed scientific journals and many collaborations with companies and research institutes or universities.
Member of the technical committee on Powder metallurgy and Additive Manufacturing of the Italian Association of Metallurgy.
PhD in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Brescia, Italy.
James Shipley (known as Jim) is Manager for Global Business Development for speciality high pressure equipment manufacturer Quintus Technologies, working with HIP and High Pressure Heat Treatment with a focus on Castings, Powder Near Net Shape and Additive Manufacturing in all manner of alloys.
From the UK and moved to Sweden over 30 years ago and has been focused on materials since.
Co-Chair for European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) HIP committee
Previous experience
28 years in various business development and product management roles for Sandvik Materials Technology
Previously European Director for Materials Technology Institute (MTI).
Industrial focus areas Offshore, Nuclear, Chemical, Petrochemical
Formal education
Graduated from the BSc Physics from the University of Nottingham, UK
Heat treatment can play a major role in enhancing the performance of cast alloys. Innovation in this field continues to address the challenges both for the industrial and the research community.
Heat treatment of die-cast Al alloys is usually a critical operation due to the enlargement of gas porosities present in the castings. Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) has been used for many years to densify cast alloys and can ensure material integrity before performing subsequent heat treatment to further strengthen the alloy.
Modern HIP equipment enables the combination of HIP and Heat Treatment (High-pressure heat treatment, HPHT) representing an interesting approach in this field achieving both densification and precipitation strengthening under pressure, in the same post-processing cycle.
In this webinar, the basics of HIP and High-Pressure heat treatment will be covered as well as a case study on the effect of these non-conventional treatments on high pressure die cast AlSi10Mg samples will be presented.
