the ebpvd coting apparatus 20 depicted in fig1 and discussed above is representative of the type of pvd apparatus that can utilize nial - based ingots 10 produced with the process of the present invention . notable examples of beta - phase nial - based intermetallic materials disclosed in the previously - noted u . s . pat . no . 5 , 975 , 852 to nagaraj et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 153 , 313 to rigney et al ., u . s . pat . no . 6 , 255 , 001 to darolia , and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 291 , 084 to darolia et al ., which contain one or more of chromium , hafnium , titanium , tantalum , silicon , gallium , zirconium , calcium , iron , cerium and / or yttrium . it is believed that the process of this invention is also suitable for producing other beta - phase nial materials . as discussed above , the nial alloys disclosed by nagaraj et al ., rigney et al ., darolia and darolia et al . are formulated as environmental coatings and bond coats for gas turbine engine applications , represented by the component 30 shown in fig1 . intense heating of the nial ingot 10 by the electron beam 26 causes molecules of the nial material to evaporate , travel upwardly , and then deposit ( condense ) on the surface of the component 30 , all in a manner known in the art . for deposition by a pvd process , the beta - phase nial ingot 10 preferably is at full density ( e . g ., pore - free ) and chemically homogeneous to reduce spitting , which is an ejection of a particle from the molten pool that causes undesirable macroparticles to be incorporated into the coating 32 . in addition , the ingot 10 preferably has sufficient mechanical integrity to be machinable for obtaining the dimensions and dimensional tolerances required for the particular pvd machine . these and other challenges are compounded by the concern for the violent exothermic reaction that takes place between nickel and aluminum when beta - phase nial is melted . the above concerns and challenges are overcome by a process that entails initially melting a composition of nickel and aluminum , in which the aluminum content is below that necessary to form beta - phase nial intermetallic ( i . e ., below about 31 atomic percent aluminum relative to the nickel content ). in a preferred embodiment , an initial charge of nickel and aluminum ( and potentially other alloying ingredients ) containing less than the peritectic 25 . 5 atomic percent aluminum , such as about 20 atomic percent aluminum ( relative to the nickel content of the charge ), is melted in a vacuum induction melting ( vim ) furnace by increasing power to the furnace until the charge is melted . prior to introducing the initial charge , revert ( previously reacted beta - nial , ni 3 al , with or without other alloying constituents ), typically in an amount less than 50 wt . % of the total melt , may be melted in the crucible to reduce or buffer the exothermic reaction . at about 20 atomic percent aluminum , the melt is a mixture of nickel and the intermetallic phase ni 3 al ( nominally 75 and 25 atomic percent nickel and aluminum , respectively ), the latter having a eutectic melting point of about 1385 ° c . to raise the aluminum content sufficiently to obtain beta - phase nial ( having stoichiometric aluminum content of 50 atomic percent ), elemental aluminum is slowly added to the melt . when aluminum is added in an amount at and above the peritectic point ( 25 . 5 atomic percent aluminum ), an equilibrium is established between nial ( solid ), liquid metal ( nickel ) and ni 3 al ( solid ). the addition of aluminum causes a shift in the equilibrium toward nial , associated with a tremendous release of energy ( the exotherm ) in the reaction of the molten metal and ni 3 al to form nial . as a result of this energy release , power to the vim furnace can be reduced . subsequent slow additions of aluminum and adjustments in power to the vim furnace are then needed to take the melt composition toward the targeted beta - phase nial composition , at which point essentially all of the nickel and aluminum of the original nickel - aluminum composition and essentially all of the added aluminum has exothermically reacted to form beta - phase nial . throughout the process of adding aluminum , the melt within the vim furnace is continuously stirred as a result of induction melting and the exothermic reaction , ensuring a homogeneous melt . in view of the above , the melting process of this invention can utilize a relative low amount of energy to create a melt of nial because the initial melt is molten at a temperature less than the melting temperature of nial ( about 1640 ° c . ), and subsequent temperature increases can be achieved without little or no increase in power to the furnace by careful additions of aluminum to control the exothermic reaction . this benefit is in addition to the basic need to control the violent exothermic reaction between nickel and aluminum that might otherwise cause operator injury and equipment damage ( e . g ., excessive liner deterioration , spills , etc .). following the melt process , additional steps may be required to produce a fully dense , crack - free ingot of beta - phase nial - based material . in the process of pouring the melt into a suitable crucible for solidification , a hot top or riser is preferably used by which additional melt is available to fill the porosity as it develops in the solidifying ingot . the solidification ( casting ) process can be carried out using known techniques to produce polycrystalline , directionally - solidified or single - crystal ingots of nial . the resulting ingot undergoes hot isostatic pressing ( hipping ) to further close porosity and other defects , and to homogenize the microstructure of the ingot . prior to a high temperature heat treatment , hipping may also be necessary to improve the evaporative qualities of the ingot , and / or to put into solution any secondary phases that are present in addition to the nial beta - phase as a result of the particular nial - based composition . for example , if the nial - based composition is alloyed to contain titanium , zirconium and / or hafnium , beta prime ( β ′) heusler phases ( ni 2 alx where x may be ti , hf , zr , ta , nb and / or v ) will be present , namely ni 2 alzr and / or ni 2 alhf . other heusler phases are possible , depending on the composition of the melt . if chromium is present in the melt ( e . g ., the desired composition is nial + crzr ), alpha chromium ( α - cr ) secondary phases may also be present . if these additional phases are not solutionized , the ingot will likely be very brittle , with the result that subsequent machining ( e . g ., centerless grinding to obtain a uniform diameter ) may cause extensive cracking . in order to put these phases in solution without melting them , it is believed that very slow temperature increases must be performed prior to the hipping process . the following heat treatment schedule is devised for the dissolution of secondary phases prior to performing the hipping operation . as noted above , those heat treatment steps ( steps 1 - 6 ) performed before hipping can be omitted , as can the fast cooling rate of step 8 , if the nial - based composition does not contain titanium , zirconium , hafnium or other elements that would produce secondary phases requiring dissolution . ( 1 ) heat treatment at a temperature of about 2300 ° f . ( about 1260 ° c .) for a duration of about twelve hours . ( 2 ) heat at a rate of about 20 ° f ./ hour ( about 10 ° c ./ hour ) to about 2375 ° f . ( about 1300 ° c .) and hold for a duration of about twenty - four hours . ( 3 ) heat at a rate of about 20 ° f ./ hour ( about 10 ° c ./ hour ) to about 2425 ° f . ( about 1330 ° c .) and hold for a duration of about twenty - four hours . ( 4 ) heat at a rate of about 20 ° f ./ hour ( about 10 ° c ./ hour ) to about 2500 ° f . ( about 1370 ° c .) and hold for a duration of about thirty - two hours . ( 5 ) cool at a rate of about 100 to about 150 ° f ./ minute ( about 55 to about 85 ° c ./ minute ) to a temperature of less than 1800 ° f . ( about 980 ° c .). ( 6 ) cool at any suitable rate to room temperature ( about 25 ° c .). ( 7 ) after heating at any suitable rate , hip at about 2200 ° f . ( about 1200 ° c .) up to near the melting temperature for a duration of about six hours at a pressure of about 15 to 30 ksi ( about 100 to 200 mpa ), preferably about 20 ksi ( about 140 mpa ); ( 8 ) cool at a rate of about 100 to about 150 ° f . minute ( about 55 to about 85 ° c ./ minute ) to less than 1800 ° f . ( about 980 ° c .). ( 9 ) cool at any suitable rate to room temperature ( about 25 ° c .). all of the above steps are performed in an inert atmosphere , such as argon . following hipping , the ingot may be machined to a final desired dimension , such as by centerless grinding ( for a cylindrical bar ), with the removal rate being adjusted to induce low stresses as known in the art . alternative machining techniques include electrochemical machining ( ecm ) and electro - discharge machining ( edm ) under low power and adequate coolant flow . if required to produce a better surface finish , the ingot can be chemically polished in a solution of about 15 volume percent hno 3 and about 85 volume percent h 3 po 4 for about five to thirty minutes at a temperature of about 125 to 150 ° f . ( about 50 to about 65 ° c .). in practice , the above processing steps have been shown to enable the production of nial - based ingots of a size and quality suitable for use in ebpvd processes to form overlay coatings . additional benefits include the use of lower initial melt temperatures , lower power input levels to the melt furnace , and improved lives for the melting furnace liner and crucibles by avoiding excessive heating during the exothermic reaction when nial is melted . while the invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment , it is apparent that modifications could be adopted by one skilled in the art . accordingly , the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims .