ABSTRACT
Hot-pressing is a well-known method for fabricating dense, strong artifacts from ceramics and refractory hard-metals. This chapter discusses some techniques for hot-pressing at very high temperatures and describes a few examples of novel materials made by this process. The hot-pressing process is still mainly used as a tool in research and development. There are few instances in which hot-pressing is used as a production method, and even fewer in which pressing is carried out at very high temperatures. Graphite is suitable for hot-pressing a large number of refractory borides, nitrides, carbides and oxides because densification can be achieved at temperatures where there is little or no reaction with the graphite. Synthetic graphite with a very high preferred-orientation of crystallite c-axes is produced by the hot-pressing of pyrolytic carbon. Although hot-pressing has been used for many years in the production of refractory hard metals, there is continuing research and development aimed at improving cutting-tool materials.
