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The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) is an

international trade association representing manufacturers of all
types of PM products, suppliers of materials and equipment, 1
end-users of PM components, as well as research institutions
and individuals who have an interest in Powder Metallurgy.

We were established as a non-profit organisation in 1989, and

act as the voice of the European PM Industry at European and
International levels. We collaborate with a range of
organisations to address issues of strategic importance to the
global competitiveness of PM technology. These issues include
Environment, Health and Safety, Quality Assurance, Research,
Education and Training, Statistics, International Standards, and
PM technology promotion.

We have developed a range of educational training materials

such as a range of free booklets, and information about these
and other publications about the Powder Metallurgy process,
PM Materials, and PM Applications is available on our EPMA
website at www.epma.com/onlinepublications.

Powder Metallurgy - European Powder Metallurgy

The Process and Its Products Association (EPMA)
This publication was originally written by Talbot House, 2nd Floor,
Gordon Dowson in 1992 and has been Market Street,
substantially revised by David Whittaker Shrewsbury, SY1 1LG
in 2008. T: +44 (0) 1743 248899
F: +44 (0) 1743 362968
© 1992 & 2008 E: [email protected]
European Powder Metallurgy Association W: www.epma.com
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Contents PO
Introduction 3 Post Sintering operations 18
2 - Re-pressing
- Forging
18
18
THE
The Process 4
- Surface Cold Rolling 18
- Infiltration 19
Why make parts from Powder? 4
- Impregnation 19
- Structural (or Mechanical) Parts 4
- Porous Materials 4 - Heat Treatment 19
- Composite Materials 5 - Surface-Hardening 19
- Magnetic Components 5 - Steam Treatment 19
- Special high-duty alloys 5 - Blueing 20
- Plating 20
Powder manufacture 6 - Coatings 20
- Solid State Reduction 6 - Machining 20
- Electrolysis 6 - De-burring 20
- Atomisation 7
- Mechanical Comminution 8
Products and Applications 21
- Chemical Processes 8
- Porous Bearings 21
- Powder Characteristics 9
- Non Porous Bearings 22
- Filters 22
Production of sintered parts 9 - Friction Materials 23
- Mixing 9 - Structural Parts 23
- Pressing (or Compacting) 10 - Ferrous Structurals Parts 23
- Tool Design 10 - Non Ferrous Structural Parts 26
- Tools 11 - Bronze 26
- Warm Compaction 11 - Aluminium 27
- Hot Pressing (pressure sintering) 12 - Powder Forgings 27
- Process 27
Other powder shaping methods 12 - Advantages 27
- Metal Injection Moulding 12 - Limitations 27
- Isostatic Compaction 13 - Hardmetals and other Hard Materials 27
- Sinter-HIP 14 - Electric and Magnetic Components 28
- Ceracon Process 14 - Magnetic Components 28
- High Velocity Compaction (HVC) 14 - Hard (or Permanent) Magnetic Materials 29
- Rapid Manufacturing Processes 14
Powder Rolling 29
Sintering 15
- Controlled Atmospheres 16
Other Products made from Powder 30
- Sinter/Hardening 16
- Vacuum Sintering 17 Metal Matrix Composites 31
- Dimensional Changes 17
- Activated Sintering 17
- Liquid Phase Sintering 18
- Ferrite Phase Sintering 18
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POWDER METALLURGY
THE PROCESS AND ITS PRODUCTS

Powder Metallurgy has been

used since the 1920s to produce
a wide range of structural PM
components, self-lubricating
bearings and cutting tools. This
publication reviews the PM
process and describes recent
developments in production
technology and PM applications.

Powder Metallurgy (PM) in the context of this The PM process involves compressing the
publication encompasses the production of powder, normally in a container, to produce a
metals in powder form and the manufacture from compact having sufficient cohesion to enable it
such powders of useful objects by the process to be handled safely, and then heating the
known as sintering. In many cases individual compact, usually in a protective atmosphere, to
engineering components are produced directly a temperature below the melting point of the
by the process such as components being main constituent during which process the
referred to indiscriminately as sintered individual particles weld together and confer
components, sintered parts, or PM parts. sufficient strength on the material for the
However, wrought products also can be intended use. It is this heating step that is
produced from powder and recently a number of referred to as sintering.
scientifically exciting developments of great
industrial potential have taken place.
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THE PROCESS WHY MAKE PARTS FROM

The basic procedure in the manufacture of PM
POWDER?
parts is: There are two principal reasons for using a
powder metallurgy product:
4 (1) Mix the metal powder or powders with a (1) cost savings compared with alternative
suitable lubricant. processes, or
(2) unique attributes attainable only by the PM
(2) Load the mixture into a die or mould and route.
apply pressure. This gives what is called a
compact, which requires only to have sufficient The first of these reasons is the driving force for:
cohesion to enable it to be handled safely and
transferred to the next stage. Such compacts are Structural (or Mechanical) Parts:
referred to as green, meaning unsintered. Hence In tonnage terms, this is by far the largest group.
the terms green density and green strength. The bulk consists of iron-based parts, but
significant tonnages of copper, brass, bronze
(3) Heat the compact, usually in a protective and aluminium parts are produced, as well as
atmosphere, at a temperature below the melting some rarer metals such as beryllium and
point of the main constituent so that the powder titanium. In general, such parts often have
particles weld together and confer sufficient advantage over forgings in dimensional
strength to the object for the intended use. This accuracy, but, in a large number of cases, the
process is called sintering, hence the term main justification for their use is the economic
sintered parts. In certain cases, a minor one. Over the past decade or so, however,
constituent becomes molten at the sintering developments have taken place that now require
temperature in which case the process is revision of the foregoing. It is now possible to
referred to as liquid phase sintering. The amount produce sintered parts with properties equal to
of liquid phase must be limited so that the part or even superior to those of parts made by more
retains its shape. traditional routes. Some of these developments
In certain special cases stages 2 and 3 are have been in the materials utilised, while others
combined i.e. compaction is done at an elevated have been modifications to the standard
temperature such that sintering occurs during production process at the compaction stage (e.g.
the process. This is termed hot pressing, or Warm Compaction, High Pressure Cold
pressure sintering. Compaction, High Velocity Compaction), during
One specialised variant on this process - the Sintering (e.g. Activated Sintering, Ferrite Phase
production of Soft Magnetic Composite (SMC) Sintering) or as post-sintering densification
components - involves a heating step aimed at processes (e.g. Powder Forging, Surface Cold
curing a resin binder, added to insulate the Rolling). These developments are considered in
individual iron powder particles, rather than at more detail in later sections of this publication.
sintering of the metal particles. There are a number of examples of the
In many cases the sintered part is subjected to second reason, the attainment of unique
additional processing - repressing, plating etc. properties or characteristics:
and these will be dealt with in later sections.
Porous Materials: Most forms of metal are
In certain special cases, e.g. in the manufacture porous to some extent, sintered metals more
of filter elements from spherical bronze powder, than most, but here we are concerned with the
no pressure is used, the powder being placed in production of parts having a significant, carefully
a suitably shaped mould in which it is sintered. controlled porosity designed to serve a useful
This process is known as loose powder sintering purpose. The chief products in the group are
filters and oil-retaining bearings often referred to
as self-lubricating bearings.
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The latter is one of the major PM products and strength, especially at elevated temperatures
is dealt with in a later section. superior to that of cast and wrought metals of
The following products cannot readily or similar basic composition.
satisfactorily be produced by alternative (f) Soft magnetic composite (SMC)
processes. materials,consisting of iron powder particles
insulated from each other by a cured resin 5
Refractory metals have very high melting binder. It is difficult if not impossible to make
points, such as tungsten, molybdenum, niobium, these composite products except by PM.
tantalum and rhenium. They are very difficult to
produce by melting and casting and are also
frequently very brittle in the cast state. A sintered
powder compact can be mechanically deformed
at a suitably elevated temperature. It then
gradually develops a microstructure with
preferred orientation that gives the now dense
material useful ductility even at ambient
temperatures.

Composite Materials: These compromise of

two or more metals which are insoluble even in
the liquid state, or mixtures of metals with non-
metallic substances such as oxides and other
refractory materials. Examples are:

(a) Electrical Contact Material

(copper/tungsten, silver/cadmium oxide)
(b) Hard Metals (cemented carbides) ,used for
cutting tools and wear parts (e.g. wire-drawing
dies and tools for hot forging of metals).
Tungsten carbide bonded with cobalt was the
first of this class of material and still has the
lion's share of the market, but other carbides
and, more recently, nitrides, carbonitrides and
borides are being used in increasing quantities
and substitutes for the relatively scarce and
expensive cobalt have been developed. These
include Ni, Ni-Co, Ni-Cr, nickel-based
superalloys and complex steels.
(c) Friction Materials for brake linings and
clutch facings in which abrasive and other non-
metallic materials are embedded in a copper or
other metallic matrix.
(d) Diamond cutting tools, especially grinding
wheels, in which small diamonds are uniformly
dispersed in a metal matrix.
(e) In recent years, several wrought products
containing finely dispersed non-metallic phases
have been developed and put into service.
These dispersion- strengthened materials
(referred to as ODS materials if the
strengthening particles are oxides) have Fig 1: Powder metallurgy processes chart
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Magnetic Components: Economic and dependent on that of the raw materials. The
technical advantages have also been found in irregular sponge-like particles are soft, and
the production of components for magnetic readily compressible, and give compacts of good
applications. green strength.
Refractory metals are normally made by
6 Special high-duty alloys: High speed steels hydrogen reduction of oxides, and the same
and superalloys based on nickel and/or cobalt process can be used for copper.
can be processed by PM to give a product There are several plants producing powder
having superior properties to those achieved by by the reduction of iron oxide (mill scale) by
casting and forging. In general, powder is means of hydrogen or carbonaceous material
compacted into a blank or billet which is then such as coke.
subjected to forging or extrusion followed by As a variant on a similar theme, high
forming in traditional ways. The advantages of compressibility iron powders are also produced
the PM route are a higher yield of usable by the decarburisation of granulated and
material and a finer, more uniform microstructure pulverised high carbon iron.
that confers improved mechanical properties
and, in the case of cutting tools and wear parts,
longer life.
The PM process has also allowed the
development of new types of materials based on
powders having micro-crystalline or even
amorphous (glass-like) structures produced by
cooling droplets of molten metal at very high
rates. The final consolidated product is
characterised by very high strength, ductility and
thermal stability.

POWDER MANUFACTURE Fig 2: Metal powders with example of components

There are many ways in which metals may be Electrolysis: By choosing suitable conditions -
produced in powder form, composition and strength of the electrolyte,
- comminution of solid metal temperature, current density, etc. - many metals
- precipitation from solution of a salt can be deposited in a spongy or powdery state.
- thermal decomposition of a chemical Extensive further processing - washing,
compound drying, reducing, annealing and crushing - may
- reduction of a compound, usually the oxide, in be required.
the solid state Copper is the main metal to be produced in
- electrodeposition this way but chromium and manganese powders
- and the atomisation of molten metal. are also produced, by electrolysis. In these
cases, however, a dense and normally brittle
Of these, the last three account for the bulk of deposit is formed and requires to be crushed to
the powders used. powder. Pressures from environmental
legislation have now restricted production of
Solid State Reduction: This was for a long time electrolytic copper to regions where these
the most widely used method for the production constraints are less severe although the powder
of iron powder. Selected ore is crushed, mixed type continues to be traded more widely by the
with carbon, and passed through a continuous major copper powder suppliers. Electrolytic iron
furnace where reaction takes place leaving a was at one time produced on a substantial scale,
cake of sponge iron which is then further treated but it has now been largely superseded by
by crushing, separation of non-metallic material, powders made by less costly processes. Very
and sieving to produce powder. Since no refining high purity and high density are two
operation is involved, the purity of the powder is distinguishing features.
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Atomisation: In this process molten metal is (1) A cup of molten metal is rotated on a vertical
broken up into small droplets and rapidly frozen axis at a speed sufficient to throw off droplets of
before the drops come into contact with each molten metal, or a stream of metal is allowed to
other or with a solid surface. fall on a rotating disc or cone; or
The principal method is to disintegrate a thin (2) A bar of the metal is rotated at high speed
stream of molten metal by subjecting it to the and the free end is progressively melted e.g. by 7
impact of high energy jets of gas or liquid. Air, an electron beam or plasma arc. This latter
nitrogen and argon are commonly used gases, process is called the Rotating Electrode Process
and water is the liquid most widely used. (REP), and the bar may be rotated either on a
By varying several parameters - design and horizontal or on a vertical axis.
configuration of the jets, pressure and volume of A special advantage of these processes is
the atomising fluid, thickness of the stream of that they can be carried out in a sealed vessel in
metal etc. - it is possible to control the particle a controlled atmosphere - even vacuum - and
size distribution over a wide range. The particle thus produce 'clean' powders of highly reactive
shape is determined largely by the rate of metals.
solidification and varies from spherical, if a low With the REP process, the avoidance of
heat capacity gas is employed, to highly irregular contact with refractory is a potent means of
if water is used. In principle, the technique is reducing the number of non-metallic inclusions in
applicable to all metals that can be melted and is the powder, and in components manufactured
used commercially for the production of iron, from the powder.
copper, tool steels, alloy steels, brass, bronze Close-coupled (or confined) gas atomisation
and the low melting point metals, such as has been extensively developed in recent years
aluminium, tin, lead, zinc and cadmium. to produce fine powders for a range of
The readily oxidisable metals (e.g. chromium- applications, including Metal Injection Moulding
bearing alloys) are being atomised on an (see later section). In close-coupled atomisation,
increasing scale by means of inert gas, the design of pouring nozzle and atomisation
especially argon. head are adjusted so that impingement of the
In addition, there are several other processes molten metal stream with atomising gas jets
that are finding increasing application, an occurs immediately below the exit of the nozzle
important one being centrifugal atomisation in with little or no free fall height.
which droplets of molten metal are discharged Atomisation is particularly useful for the
from a rotating source. There are basically two production of alloys in powder form, since the
types of centrifugal atomisation processes: constituent metals are fully alloyed in the molten
state. Thus each powder particle has the same
chemical composition.

Fig 3: Water Atomisation, courtesy of Hoeganaes Corporation

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Additionally the process is used to produce

compositions such as copper-lead, in which the
lead, though soluble in the liquid state, comes
out of solution on solidification. If a casting of
such an alloy is made, serious segregation of
8 the lead results, but if the liquid is atomised, the
end product is copper powder containing a very
fine and uniform distribution of lead inclusions
within each powder particle.

Mechanical Comminution: Brittle materials

such as inter-metallic compounds, ferro-alloys -
ferro-chromium, ferro-silicon, etc. are pulverised
mechanically in ball mills, and a process known
as the Coldstream Process produces very fine
powders. In this process, granular material,
which may be coarsely atomised powder, is fed
in a stream of gas under pressure through a
venturi and is cooled and thereby embrittled by
Fig 4: Sponge Iron Powder NC 100.24, courtesy
the adiabatic expansion of the gas before
Höganäs AB
impinging on a target on which the granules
shatters.

Chemical Processes: Thermal decomposition

of a chemical compound is used in some cases,
a notable one being nickel carbonyl.
This Carbonyl Process was originally
developed as a means of refining nickel, crude
metal being caused selectively to react with
carbon monoxide under pressure to form the
carbonyl which is gaseous at the reaction
temperature and which decomposes on raising
the temperature and lowering the pressure.
The same process is used for iron, and
carbonyl iron powder finds small scale
application where its very high purity is useful.
Recently, demand for very fine powders for
the injection moulding process has given a
considerable impetus to the carbonyl process.
Typically the particle size of carbonyl iron
powder is 1 - 5 µm, but, as in the case of nickel,
it can be tailored to suit particular requirements. Fig 5: Atomised Iron Powder ASC 100.29, courtesy
Höganäs AB
Another case of thermal decomposition is
platinum powder, which is made from sponge
produced by heating a salt - platinum ammonium to produce black and white photographs. Cobalt
chloride. In the Sherritt-Gordon process, nickel powders are also produced by reduction of
powder is made by hydrogen reduction of a cobalt carbonate powder, produced by chemical
solution of a nickel salt under pressure. precipitation with CO2, starting from cobalt
Chemical precipitation of metal from a solution amino-sulphate solution.
of a soluble salt is used in other cases - e.g.
silver, powder of which is produced by adding a
reducing agent to a solution of silver nitrate. This
is, of course, the same basic process as is used
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Powder Characteristics: The further processing For example, the presence of combined
and the final results achieved in the sintered part carbon in iron tends to harden the matrix so that
are influenced by the characteristics of the increased pressures are required during
powder: compaction. Free carbon, however, is often an
advantage, acting as a lubricant during the
- particle size, pressing operation. 9
- and size distribution Most metal powder grains are coated by a thin
- particle shape, oxide film, but in general these do not interfere
- structure with the process, since they are ruptured during
- and surface condition. the pressing operation to provide clean and
active metal surfaces which are easily cold-
A very important parameter is the apparent welded. Their final reduction under the controlled
density (AD) of the powder, i.e. the mass of a sintering atmosphere is essential for complete
given volume, since this strongly influences the metal bonding and maximum strength.
strength of the compact obtained on pressing. Stable oxide films or included oxide particles,
The AD is a function of particle shape and the such as SiO2 and Al2O3, are more serious,
degree of porosity of the particles. since these are generally abrasive and lead to
The choice of powder characteristics is increased tool wear. Furthermore they cannot be
normally based on compromise, since many of reduced during subsequent sintering and their
the factors are in direct opposition to each other: presence may adversely affect the mechanical
An increase in the irregularity and porous properties especially impact strength of the
texture of the powder grain, i.e. decrease in finished part. This is of major importance when
apparent density, increases the reduction in high integrity, high density parts are required -
volume that occurs on pressing and thus the notably powder forgings.
degree of cold-welding, which, in turn, gives
greater green strength to the compact.
This increase in contacting surfaces also
PRODUCTION OF SINTERED
leads to more efficient sintering. PARTS
Additionally the greater reduction in volume
necessary to give the required green density The general sequence of operations involved in
may require greater pressure and consequently the powder metallurgy process is shown
larger presses and stronger dies. schematically in Fig. 1. The component powders
The ease and efficiency of packing the powder are mixed together with a lubricant until a
in the die depends to a large extent on a wide homogeneous mix is obtained. The mix is then
particle size distribution, so that the voids loaded into a die and compacted under
created between large particles can be pressure, after which the compact is sintered.
progressively filled with those of smaller size. An exception is the process for making filter
Fine particle sizes tend to leave smaller pores, elements from spherical bronze powder where
which are easily closed during sintering. An no pressure is used; the powder being simply
excess of fines, however, reduces flow placed in a suitably shaped mould in which it is
properties. sintered. This process is known as loose powder
Fine particle size is, however, an important sintering.
requirement of the Metal Injection Moulding
process (see later section). The emergence of Mixing: The object of mixing is to provide a
this process since the 1980s has given a homogeneous mixture and to incorporate the
considerable impetus initially to the use of lubricant. Popular lubricants are stearic acid,
carbonyl iron and nickel powders and, stearin, metallic stearates, especially zinc
subsequently and more significantly, to fine gas stearate, and increasingly, other organic
atomised powders produced by close-coupled compounds of a waxy nature. The main function
atomisation. of the lubricant is to reduce the friction between
The purity of the powder is critically important. the powder mass and the surfaces of the tools -
Impurity levels that can be tolerated depend to a die walls, core rods, etc. - along which the
large extent on the nature and state of powder must slide during compaction, thus
combination of the substances concerned. assisting the achievement of the desired
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uniformity of density from top to bottom of the geometries, thin and fragile punches in the tool
compact. Of equal importance is the fact that the assembly would necessitate pressures being
reduction of friction also makes it easier to eject limited to around 600 MPa maximum. However,
the compact and so minimises the tendency to for "chunkier" part geometries not requiring thin
form cracks. punches, it has been found possible to utilise
10 It has been suggested that an additional pressures of 1,000 MPa or even more. This High
function of the lubricant is to help the particles to Pressure Cold Compaction has allowed higher
slide over each other, but it seems doubtful density (and therefore higher performance) parts
whether this factor is of much significance: - to be introduced in applications such as starter
good compacts can be obtained without any gears, synchroniser rings and cam lobes.
admixed lubricant, e.g. using die wall lubrication
or isostatic pressing. Care in the selection of Tool Design: Attention must be given to the
lubricant is necessary, since it may adversely following design factors in the light of limited
affect both green and sintered strengths lateral flow and also the necessity of ejecting the
especially if any residue is left after the organic green part in the direction of pressing.
part has decomposed. (1) Length-to-Width-Ratio. The applied
Over-mixing should be avoided, since this pressure and therefore the density decreases
increases the apparent density of the mix. over the length of the compact. Double-ended
Additionally, over-mixing usually further reduces compaction assists in equalising pressure
the green strength of the subsequent compacts distribution, but still leaves a lower density region
probably by completely coating the whole at the middle section of the part. Ratios of length
surface of the particles, thereby reducing the to width in excess of 3:1 are not recommended.
area of metal to metal contact on which the (2) Re-entrant Grooves. Reverse Tapers and
green strength depends. Lateral Holes cannot be moulded into the
The flow properties also are impaired and compact because of the impossibility of ejection
good flow is essential for the next step i.e. and must therefore be subsequently machined,
loading the powder into the die. In the special although elaborate, sometimes flexible die
case of cemented carbides, the mixing process assemblies have been designed and patented to
is carried out in a ball mill, one of the objects overcome this limitation.
being to coat the individual particles with the (3) Bevels require feather-edged tools, which
binder metal e.g. cobalt, but as the very fine are fragile and easily fractured; so, if design
powders involved do not flow, the mixture is permits, the bevelled edge of the component
subsequently granulated to form agglomerates. should end in a small flat.
(4) Abrupt changes in sections should be
Pressing (or Compacting): The mixed powders avoided since they introduce stress raisers,
are pressed to shape in a rigid steel or carbide which may lead to crack formation as a result of
die under pressures of 150-900 MPa. At this the stresses induced by the elastic expansion-
stage, the compacts maintain their shape by springback - that takes place as the compact is
virtue of cold-welding of the powder grains within ejected from the die.
the mass. The compacts must be sufficiently (5) To a first approximation the size of the part
strong to withstand ejection from the die and that can be made is a direct function of the
subsequent handling before sintering. This is a capacity of the press available, but the
critical operation in the process, since the final complexity of the part and number of punch
shape and mechanical properties are essentially motions required also influence the equation.
determined by the level and uniformity of the as- These same factors are relevant also to the
pressed density. Powders under pressure do not production rates: the simpler the part the easier
behave as liquids, the pressure is not uniformly it is to press at high speed. With such parts,
transmitted and very little lateral flow takes place rates as high as 1 part per second have been
within the die. The attainment of satisfactory achieved using mechanical presses. Hydraulic
densities therefore depends to a large degree on presses enable greater pressures to be used -
press tool design. up to 5,000 tonnes - but speeds are necessarily
The maximum permissible compaction much lower, 10 parts per minute being a fairly
pressure is controlled by the need to avoid tool representative high speed for parts of
failures. For complex, multi-level part comparatively simple geometry.
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practical difficulties of applying the lubricant

which must be renewed before each die fill have,
so far, limited the use of the process to a few
special cases where high density is a must.

Tools: The basic parts of a tool set are the die, 11

in which the powder is contained, and punches,
which are used to apply the compacting
pressure. If, as is frequently the case, the part
has holes running through it, these are formed
by core rods located in the die before the
powder is introduced. Multiple punches acting
independently are used if the component being
pressed has different levels. The die and core
rod(s) form the contour of the compact parallel to
the direction of pressing, and must, of course, be
Fig 6: Compacting Press, courtesy of Fette free from projections and re-entrants at right
GmbH angles to the pressing direction; otherwise it
would be impossible to eject the compact from
It has already been stated that, because of the
the die.
frictional forces set up between the powder
Materials used are hardened tool steels or
grains and die wall, there is progressive
hardmetals (cemented carbides). The use of the
reduction of pressure transmitted and thus of
more expensive carbide is increasing because of
density achieved through the length of the
the greater life it affords, and the increasing cost
component. It will be obvious that this factor
of tool changes both in lost production and
increases in importance as the size of the
toolsetters' wages. PM high-speed steels are
compact increases, and is one of the factors
finding increasing application in this field. For
limiting the size of sintered part that can be
short runs, ordinary steel dies may, of course, be
produced economically.
more economical.
These effects are minimised by improving
The importance of precise dimensions and
lubrication and by double-ended compaction,
high quality of the surface finish scarcely needs
and many presses incorporate multiple punch
emphasis bearing in mind that one of the major
motions operating from above and below the die.
features justifying the use of sintered parts is the
The same general results can be obtained with
ability to produce such parts accurately as
the single-acting press using a floating die
regards size with a surface finish that obviates
assembly. It is possible to continue the
the necessity for subsequent machining
downward movement of the die after
operations.
compaction, thereby withdrawing the die from
Die life is another important aspect, and here
the component rather than ejecting by an
it is impossible to give more than an indication.
upward movement of the bottom punch.
The life depends not only on what material is
The dependence of green density upon
being pressed, and to what density, what
compacting pressure follows a hyperbolic
lubrication is provided and the degree of die
relationship and there is therefore a practical
wear that can be tolerated, but also on the skill
optimum pressure above which further
of the toolsetter, and the complexity of the tools.
densification is negligible and tool wear becomes
With steel dies, up to about 200,000 compacts
severe.
can be achieved, with carbide dies 1,000,000
Another feature that limits the density that can
parts or more are possible.
be achieved is the presence of the lubricant.
Although this is normally present in no more
Warm Compaction:A variant on the compaction
than 1% by weight, the volume can be 5% or
process that involves the pre-heating of both the
more, so that even if there are no voids in the
powder feedstock and the compaction tooling to
compact, the density could not exceed 95%.
around 130°C. This allows green density to be
The use of die wall lubrication using unlubricated
increased by 0.1 to 0.3 g/cm3, compared with
powder mixes overcomes this problem, but the
conventional cold compaction, resulting in
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improvements in mechanical properties by same injection moulding machines, as were in

10-20%. use in the plastics industry, were used. The
Several systems for powder and tool heating green body is released from the mould, the
have been developed and are offered by a binder removed, and the part sintered. Densities
number of press suppliers, often to be retro-fitted of more than 95% theoretical are generally
12 to existing presses. achieved, giving properties close to those of the
Several hundred component applications are wrought material, and with remarkable
now in production. Many of these are various dimensional accuracy.
types of helical gear for hand power tools, but It can be inferred from the above that the
automotive applications include sprockets, process is significantly more expensive than the
synchroniser rings and various hubs. traditional PM process. The rationale behind its
use is that parts of very complex geometry that
Hot Pressing (pressure sintering): While the are out of the question for normal PM can be
bulk of sintered parts is made by pressing the produced. By reason of their complexity, such
powder mix at ambient temperature followed by parts would be very expensive to produce by
sintering, hot-pressing is used in certain cases. machining.
At elevated temperatures metals are softer and The process has a number of special
therefore it is usually possible to press to a much requirements. One of the secrets of success -
higher density without increasing the pressure and, in spite of the large amount of literature on
required. It may be possible to dispense with a the subject, there are still secrets - is the
separate sintering operation, but this is not
general because hot pressing is only justified by
the significantly better properties obtained and a
subsequent sintering step almost invariably
improves the properties. The use of the process
is limited by the much greater cost: special heat-
resistant dies are required, a controlled
atmosphere may be needed and production
rates are, relatively, very slow; but it is used for
the production of hardmetal and diamond cutting
tools, both of which are, in any case, expensive
materials.

OTHER POWDER SHAPING

METHODS
Metal Injection Moulding: The production of
green bodies by injection moulding of a
plasticised powder feedstock was first developed
for ceramics in the 1970s and was then first
adapted to metal powders (as Metal Injection
Moulding) at the end of that decade.
In principle, the process (see Fig. 7) is quite
straightforward:- metal powder is intimately
mixed with a thermoplastic binder and worked
(using a kneader or shear roll extruder) to
produce a plasticised feedstock (usually in a
granulated form), which is then injected at a
slightly elevated temperature into a mould in a
manner identical with that used for the
production of plastic articles. Initially, in fact, the Fig 7: MIM processes chart
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 13

formulation of the binder. Among its many

necessary attributes, it must be capable of
wetting the powder particles and forming a
uniform mass, and it must be removable without
causing the part to deform or disintegrate. Since
the proprietary process was launched, a great 13
deal of research has been conducted and many
different formulations are now available.
As regards the metal powder there are
special requirements there also. In order to get a
readily injectable feedstock and a uniform
powder loading, the powder has to be, by PM
standards, very fine. The carbonyl iron and
nickel powders used in low alloy steel blends are Fig 8: MIM Components
spherical and have particle sizes between 2 and
10 µm. High alloy powders such as stainless currently confined to relatively very small parts.
steels (a dominant material type in current MIM The sintering process for injection moulded
production) can be either gas or water atomised parts does not differ significantly from that
and have particle sizes less than 40 µm. Gas normally used for die-pressed compacts, but as
atomised powders are generally produced by the the original green body had a large volume
close-coupled atomisation process, referred to in fraction of binder, up to 50%, the shrinkage on
an earlier section. The amount of binder used is sintering is very large. It is remarkable that very
typically of the order of 50 vol.%. The use of fine good dimensional tolerances are achieved. A
powder gives an important additional bonus - prerequisite is that the original mix be completely
such powders sinter more readily by reason of uniform so that the shrinkage is identical
their large specific surface area. throughout.
The removal of the binder - usually referred The ability to competitively mass-produce
to as debinding - is another key operation. The complex, strong shapes in a wide variety of
initial method was to heat the parts carefully. and materials makes the process an excellent
cause the binder to decompose and/or alternative to pressure die casting and
evaporate (thermal debinding). This was a slow machining.
process which, depending on the thickness of Metal injection moulding business, after an
the thickest section, could take between a few initial period where it was gaining acceptance
hours and a few days. Other debinding with design engineers, has since been following
procedures have subsequently been developed a growth rate of around 10% p.a. for the past
which have been able to reduce debinding times decade or more. Continued growth at such rates
to some degree. One is catalytic debinding, a is anticipated for the foreseeable future.
patented process in which a polyacetal binder is
removed in a gaseous acid environment Isostatic Compaction: A technique which is
(concentrated nitric or oxalic acid) at a coming increasingly into use is isostatic
temperature of around 120°C, the reaction pressing.
products being burnt in a natural gas flame. In Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) the powder is
Solvent debinding techniques have also been contained in a flexible mould commonly of
developed, in which the binder includes a polyurethane. In Wet Bag CIP, the filled mould is
constituent that can be dissolved in a liquid at then immersed in a liquid, usually water, which is
room temperature so that a network of pumped to a high pressure. Thus the powder is
interconnected porosity is formed (sometimes as compacted with the same pressure in all
an aid to faster thermal removal of other binder directions, and, since no lubricant is needed,
constituents). Water soluble binder constituents high and uniform density can be achieved. In
are preferred to organic solvents for Dry Bag CIP, the flexible mould is permanently
environmental reasons. fixed to the pressure vessel container and is
The relatively long time required for separated from the pressurising liquid by a
debinding and its thickness dependence is high pressure transmission membrane (hence the
on the list of reasons why the process is term "dry bag").
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 14

The process removes many of the constraints Ceracon Process: In the 1980s, a number of
that limit the geometry of parts compacted processes were developed, which could be
unidirectionally in rigid dies. Long thin-walled generically described as "pseudo-HIP"
cylinders and parts with undercuts present no processes. Of these processes, Ceracon
problem. The process is being increasingly remains as the one process that succeeded in
14 automated with consequent improvements in creating a market niche.
productivity, and production rates are in some The term "Ceracon" is derived from ceramic
cases comparable with die pressing. granular consolidation. This involves charging
Cold isostatic pressing is commonly used in heated ceramic grains directly into a die and
the forming of a broad range of products; then inserting a preheated preform or group of
including ceramic spark plug bodies (a leading preforms into the hot ceramic, which, when
application of Dry Bag CIP), refractory crucibles, compacted by the axial loading of the press, acts
hardmetal parts (e.g. rollers and dies), tungsten as a pseudo-isostatic pressure transfer medium.
heavy alloys, high speed steel semi-products, Densification and deformation of the preform
molybdenum and tungsten arc furnace melting result, 100% of theoretical density being
electrodes and long cylindrical filter elements. achieved with the selection of the proper
However, the process has not succeeded in variables. Cycle time under pressure is a matter
establishing a significant niche in the forming of of seconds, the ram being retracted once the
low alloy ferrous PM materials. desired load has been achieved. Following
Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) also finds consolidation, the ceramic granular medium and
extensive use for the compaction of powders. In the now fully dense parts are separated by
this case it is not possible to use a liquid ejecting the contents of the die and separating
pressure medium and argon is normally used. the ceramic grains and parts. The system can be
Furthermore, the material used for the container fully automated using a robot for handling of
cannot be an organic elastomer, and in general ceramic grains and preforms and a variety of
a metal container, referred to as a can, is used. shapes such as connecting rods can be
Since, at the temperatures involved, sintering produced.
takes place, the question of green strength does
not arise, spherical powders, which have the High Velocity Compaction (HVC): HVC is a
highest AD are favoured. The process is used in compaction technology developed by Höganäs
the production of billets of superalloys, high- AB and Hydropulsor AB around 2000. The
speed steels, ceramics etc. where the integrity of technology involves compaction in less than 20
the materials is a prime consideration. milliseconds by a high-energy impact. Further
densification is possible with multiple impacts at
Sinter-HIP: With sintered metals a relative intervals as short as 300 ms. Materials based on
density of about 92% is sufficient to ensure that both pre-alloyed and diffusion-alloyed ferrous
open porosity - i.e. surface-connected porosity - grades have been compacted to densities in the
has been eliminated and, if vacuum sintering has range 7.4 to 7.7 g/cm3.
been used so that there is no gas in the pores, This approach is potentially particularly useful
such parts may be HIPed to full density without for the production of large components
canning. In a recently developed process, (i.e. weights up to 5kg), but, like high pressure
sintering followed by HIPping in the same vessel conventional compaction, is likely to be limited to
is achieved. The vessel is evacuated, raised to "chunky" part geometries, although
sintering temperature, and then, at a developments to take the technology into multi-
predetermined stage, high pressure argon is level parts have been reported. Helical gear
introduced. forms are difficult to imagine by this technique,
This process, called Sinter-HIP or Pressure but the production of straight spur gear forms at
Assisted Sintering (PAS) is rapidly superseding density levels over 7.5 g/cm3 has been
the two stage process of vacuum sintering demonstrated.
followed by HIPping in a separate apparatus for
hardmetal cutting tools, and it can be expected Rapid Manufacturing Processes: Several
to find increasing application more generally. forming methods, originally aimed at Rapid
Prototyping, have now been developed further
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 15

Shaping).
These methods can become
commercially viable at small batch sizes
as they obviate the need for the
manufacture of the tooling required for
conventional processes. They are also 15
very useful for the building of product
shapes that could not be produced in
any other way - any shape, that can be
designed by CAD, can be built by these
processes
Fig 9: PM Sintering parts entering a mesh belt sintering
furnace, courtesy of Ames S.A.
as means of low volume production of SINTERING
components from a wide range of metal
powders. These methods are also sometimes As the term 'sintered part' implies, sintering is a
referred to as Freeform Fabrication or Direct key part of the operation. It is here that the
Writing technologies. compact acquires the strength needed to fulfil
The original process of Selective Laser the intended role as an engineering component.
Sintering involved building up a 3-dimensional In general, sintering requires heat.
shape layer by layer by rastering a laser beam The ISO definition of the term reads: 'The
on the surface of a bed of powder to create thermal treatment of a powder or compact at a
sintering locally and was restricted in the types temperature below the melting point of the main
of materials that could be processed. Also, the constituent, for the purpose of increasing its
achievable sintered density was restricted to strength by bonding together of the particles'.
quite a low level by the packing density of the Theories about exactly what happens during
initial powder bed and usable components could sintering have provided the subject matter of
generally only be produced by post-sintering innumerable conferences and learned scientific
infiltration. papers, but these need not concern us here.
Of much more potential is a range of 3- Suffice to say that atomic diffusion takes place
dimensional Powder Melting methods. and the welded areas formed during compaction
These can be separated into two classes; those grow until eventually they may be lost
using a powder bed (i.e. similar to Selective completely.
Laser Sintering) and those based on injection of Recrystallisation and grain growth may follow,
powder into an energy beam. In both cases, and the pores tend to become rounded and the
there are examples of developed commercial total porosity, as a percentage of the whole
processes that use either a laser or electron volume, tends to decrease.
beam as the energy source. The operation is almost invariably carried out
Powder bed methods raster the energy beam under a protective atmosphere, because of the
to build a 3-dimensional shape layer by layer by large surface areas involved, and at
melting individual powder particles. In essence, temperatures between 60 and 90% of the
therefore, they are micro-casting methods. melting-point of the particular metal or alloys. For
Commercially available methods include SLM powder mixtures, however, the sintering
(Selective Laser Melting) and EBM (Electron temperature may be above the melting-point of
Beam Melting). the lower-melting constituent, e.g. copper/tin
Powder injection methods involve the deposition alloys, iron/copper structural parts, tungsten
of a 3-dimensional shape from molten metal carbide/cobalt cemented carbides, so that
created by injection of powder into an energy sintering in all these cases takes place in the
beam. In essence, these processes are weld presence of a liquid phase, hence the term liquid
deposition on a micro-scale. The commercial phase sintering.
processes include Lasform, LDMD (Laser Direct
Metal Deposition), DMD (Direct Metal
Deposition) and LENS (Laser Engineering Net
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 16

It is, of course, essential to restrict the amount atmospheres, primarily because of their lower
of liquid phase in order to avoid impairing the cost, were produced by partial combustion of
shape of the part. Control over heating rate, hydro-carbons. By variation of the air-to-gas
time, temperature and atmosphere is required ratio, a wide range of compositions can be
for reproducible results. obtained. For practical applications, since the
16 The type of furnace most generally favoured is combusted gas contains water vapour it must be
an electrically heated one through which the dried to a dewpoint of less than 0°C for
compacts are passed on a woven wire mesh satisfactory operation with iron components.
belt. The belt and the heating elements are of a
modified 80/20 nickel/chromium alloy and give a Hydrocarbon gas, such as methane, butane or
useful life at temperatures up to 1150°C. propane, reacted with a limited amount of air
For higher temperatures, walking beam may contain up to 45% of hydrogen, some
furnaces are preferred, and these are carbon monoxide and dioxide with nitrogen as
increasingly being used as the demand for the remainder. Because of the endo-thermic
higher strength in sintered parts increases. nature of this reaction, external heat has to be
Silicon carbide heating elements are used and supplied, and for that reason the resulting
can be operated up to 1350°C. atmosphere is called endogas.
For special purposes at still higher
temperature, molybdenum heating elements can If the hydrocarbon is burnt with just insufficient
be used, but special problems are involved, air for complete combustion, an atmosphere
notably the readiness with which molybdenum which may contain 5% or less of hydrogen and a
forms a volatile oxide. very large percentage of nitrogen is produced,
Molybdenum furnaces must operate in a pure and as this reaction is exo-thermic, the
hydrogen atmosphere. atmosphere is called exogas. It is the cheapest
atmosphere available, but its reducing potential
Controlled Atmospheres: These are essential is low and thus the removal of oxides from the
for almost all sintering processes, to prevent powder compacts is less efficient and lower
oxidation and to promote the reduction of sintered strengths may result.
surface oxides.
In practice dry hydrogen,
nitrogen/hydrogen mixtures and
partially combusted hydrocarbons are
mainly used, although the first named
is often precluded because of cost. It is
however, used for sintering carbides
and magnetic materials of the Alnico
type.
Dissociated ammonia containing
75% hydrogen and 25% nitrogen can
readily be produced free from oxygen
or water vapour, and having a
dewpoint of the order of -50°C. It can Fig 10: PM Sintering furnace, courtesy of
replace pure hydrogen for many applications at Elino Furnaces GmbH
approximately one-third the cost, with the
obvious exceptions where reaction with nitrogen For sintering steels, i.e. ferrous alloys containing
cannot be tolerated. It can be used to sinter iron, carbon as an alloying element, the carbon
steel, stainless steel and copper-base potential of the atmosphere is very important. It
components and is particularly useful for high should be in equilibrium with the steel.
temperature sintering of ferrous grades that
contain elements (e.g. Cr), which form oxides Over the past decade or so, the atmosphere
that could not be readily reduced in other type most commonly adopted for the sintering of
atmospheres. ferrous parts has become increasingly the so-
Until recently, the most widely used called 'synthetic' atmospheres, also called
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 17

nitrogen-based atmospheres, since they are

produced by careful mixing of predominantly
nitrogen with hydrogen (usually at the 5 to 10
volume% level). For the sintering of steels, a
hydrocarbon gas is also often added in
predetermined proportions, in order to reduce 17
any residual oxygen contained within the
porosity in the parts. These atmospheres, though
possibly more expensive than exo- or endogas,
have the advantage of cleanliness, more reliable
adherence to the specified composition (e.g.
they are designed to be "carbon-neutral", the
carbon content of the sintered product being Fig 11: Double-door crucible VIGA atomization
controlled solely by the graphite addition to the unit courtesy of ALD Vacuum technologie sa
initial powder mix) and inherently low water
vapour content.
Vacuum Sintering: Vacuum can be regarded as
Sinter/Hardening: New types of sintering
a special case of a controlled atmosphere, and
furnaces allow low alloy steel parts to be
is probably the best from the scientific point of
sintered with neutral carbon potential (without
view. Gas within the compact is readily removed
decarburisation or carburisation) and then to be
and readily oxidisable metals such aluminium,
hardened in a rapid cooling zone.
beryllium, niobium (columbium) and tantalum,
The heat treatment is achieved by high speed
the oxides of which are not reduced even by the
circulation of a water cooled protective gas in the
best gaseous reducing atmospheres may be
rapid cooling zone of the furnace with cooling
sintered.
rates of up to 50°C/sec achievable between
Vacuum sintering, however, is very expensive
900°C and 400°C.
and for that reason is unlikely to find application
In recent years, the major iron powder
in the production of standard, run of the mill
suppliers have also developed special, high
mechanical parts where the atmospheres
hardenability powder grades that have been
referred to earlier give quite satisfactory results.
specifically tailored to respond to sinter
Apart from equipment cost and relatively low
hardening. These materials are often "hybrids",
rates of production, the process is difficult if not
involving full pre-alloying with Mo and diffusion-
impossible to make continuous and to automate.
alloying or bonded mixing of other additions.
However, for certain special applications, the
Other materials have been designed to give
number and volume of which is increasing,
satisfactory response to sinter-hardening using
vacuum sintering is becoming the standard e.g.
low levels of alloying additions and less
high speed steels and other highly alloyed steels
expensive elements such as Cr and Mn. This
(especially chromium-containing steels),
process results in a homogeneous martensitic
hardmetals (especially those containing TiC, TaC
structure in the PM steels.
or NbC) and titanium alloys.
Close dimensional tolerances are maintained
in the sinter-hardened parts thus eliminating the
Dimensional Changes During Sintering:
need for sizing. The combination of sintering and
As mentioned above, sintering leads to
hardening in one step has reduced the
progressively increased strength by causing the
production costs of low alloy steel parts, which
particles to weld together by diffusion.
need post sintering heat treatment.
Generally, the part tends to increase in density
The sinter-hardening furnace also provides
as sintering proceeds and this still further
other cost benefits through its ability to generate
improves the mechanical properties. Increase in
the endothermic sintering atmosphere in the
density implies, of course, an overall shrinkage
furnace itself from a combustion gas and air and
which leads to complications. It is possible,
also through the use of the endothermic gas
however, to get an increase in size, i.e. growth,
flowing out of the sintering zone to heat the PM
taking place during sintering.
parts from ambient temperature to approx.
500-600°C.
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 18

This growth can result from a number of factors: purpose). Sintering activity can be greatly
(a) entrapped gases within the compact (b) increased, as self-diffusion of iron is around 100
water vapour formed within the object by times greater at a given temperature in the
reduction of oxides (c) decomposition products ferrite phase rather than in austenite. There is a
of the lubricant. Rapid heating and high green requirement with this approach for the alloy
18 density intensify all these effects and may lead system and sintering atmosphere to be
not only to overall growth, but to blistering and completely carbon-free, as carbon is a strong
distortion. Clearly such behaviour must be austenite stabiliser. The carbon-free product can
avoided. then be readily sized after sintering and, if
Another cause of growth, which is quite necessary, carbon then introduced for
distinct from the above, is the result of having strengthening purposes by case-hardening or
mixed powders of different elements. even through carburising.
Conspicuous examples are iron containing The use of this approach, particularly when
copper, and copper containing tin (to form combined with higher temperature sintering, can
bronze). The exact mechanism whereby this produce sintered density levels around
growth occurs has not been established to 7.5g/cm3.
everyone's satisfaction, but there is general
agreement that it is a diffusion effect. The growth
is most marked above the melting point of the
lower melting constituent. In this case, also fast POST SINTERING OPERATIONS
heating rates tend to increase growth. Under
controlled plant conditions, reproducible size Re-pressing: Even with the best control that is
change can be maintained. It is, of course, feasible in practice, there will inevitably be some
necessary to allow for this change in the design variation in the dimensions of parts produced
and manufacture of tools, but it is possible and from a given material in a given die set.
increasingly practised so to balance the Typically, it is possible for parts 'as-sintered' to
composition and sintering regime that no be accurate to a tolerance of 0.002mm per mm,
dimensional change takes place. It should in the direction at right angles to the pressing -
however be noted that dimensional change is direction, and 0.004mm per mm parallel to the
influenced also by compact density: the lower pressing direction. Dimensional accuracy can be
this is the greater the tendency to shrink. This is greatly improved by re-pressing the part after
one of the reasons that uniformity of density of sintering. This operation is called sizing.
the compact is of such importance. If there is Sizing may be done in the die that was used
significant variation from one part to another the for compacting the powder in those cases where
differential dimensional change in the various the dimensional change on sintering is controlled
sections can lead to warpage. at or very near to zero, but commonly separate
sizing tools are used.
Liquid Phase Sintering: As already mentioned Re-pressing is used also to imprint or emboss
there are a number of commercial processes the face(s) of the component in contact with the
during which a liquid phase is present at some punch(es), in which case the process is referred
stage of the sintering operation. Such a phase to, for obvious reasons, as coining.
markedly assists the sintering operation, and can During re-pressing the density of the part is
be regarded as a special case of activated generally increased, especially if the as-sintered
sintering. Tin with copper, copper with iron, the density is low. In certain cases where strength
binder metal (often cobalt) in cemented carbides and other mechanical properties are required to
are typical examples. be at maximum, re-pressing is used principally to
achieve such densification. Further improvement
Ferrite Phase Sintering: A further special case is achieved by re-sintering
of activated sintering, developed in the 1990s,
has involved the use of ferrous material grades, Hot Isostatic Pressing: HIP is used as a post-
incorporating an addition of an element that sintering operation to eliminate flaws and
stabilises ferrite phase at sintering temperatures microporosity in cemented carbides. It is
(the commercial powder grades contained
3.5%Mo, either fully pre-alloyed or mixed, for this
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 19

predicted that as HIP vessels increase in size capacity to dissolve the metal being infiltrated
the economics of the process will be sufficiently otherwise the surface of the part may be eroded.
attractive to allow its use even on low-alloy steel The process is used quite extensively with
structural PM parts in order to achieve full- ferrous parts using copper as infiltrant but to
density. avoid erosion, an alloy of copper containing iron
and manganese, is often used. 19
Forging: This is a technique in which a pressed Clearly if the molten copper is already
and sintered blank is hot re-pressed in a closed saturated with iron its ability to erode the surface
die that significantly changes the shape of the is lost. Other proprietary infiltrant compositions
part, and at the same time can give almost are also on the market.
complete density and hence mechanical However, as we saw in the section on
properties approaching or even surpassing those dimensional change during sintering, the
of traditional wrought parts. Powder (or Sinter) diffusion of copper into iron can lead to growth.
Forging is dealt with in more detail in a later Infiltration is also used to make composite
section. electrical contact material such as
tungsten/copper and molybdenum/silver; the
Surface Cold Rolling: It is possible to increase lower melting point metal being melted in contact
density level (and therefore performance level) with an already sintered skeleton of W or Mo.
of PM parts by applying an appropriate
deformation after sintering. Powder Forging is, of Impregnation: This term is used for a process
course, a long established example of this analogous to infiltration except that the pores are
approach and, also, a certain degree of filled with an organic as opposed to a metallic
densification can be produced by cold calibration material. An outstanding example is oil-
or re-pressing. Surface Cold Rolling, on the impregnated bearing materials, which are dealt
other hand, is a means of creating densification with in detail later; but, increasingly,
locally just in the areas where it is most often impregnation with thermo-setting or other plastic
required, the surface layers of the component. materials is being done.
The technology was originally applied to The benefits to be obtained include some
improve rolling contact fatigue resistance of PM increase in mechanical properties, sealing of the
bearing races, but has subsequently been pores, which may provide pressure-tightness
applied to the tooth profiles of both straight spur and will also prevent the entry of potentially
and helical gears, to improve tooth bend fatigue corrosive electrolyte during a subsequent plating
strength and surface contact fatigue strength operation.
(pitting wear resistance). Additionally the machining of sintered parts is
By rolling a pre-toothed PM perform, with a improved, a feature that is referred to in more
controlled amount of excess stock on the tooth detail later.
profile, with a meshing toothed rolling
tool, a local densification can be
created in the surface layers of the
entire tooth profile. With such a
densified surface, the PM part can
respond to a subsequent case
carburising treatment in a similar way
to a solid steel gear.

Infiltration: An alternative method of

improving the strength of inherently
porous sintered parts is to fill the
surface connected pores with a liquid
metal having a lower melting point.
Pressure is not required. Capillary
action is sufficient, provided that the
infiltrant wets the metal concerned. It Fig 12: Oil Quenching System, courtesy of Hoeganaes
is desirable,that the infiltrant has a limited Corp
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 20

Heat Treatment: Although many, perhaps the Plating: Sintered parts may be plated in much
bulk of sintered structural parts are used in the the same way as wrought or cast metals, and
as-sintered or sintered and sized condition, large copper, nickel, cadmium, zinc, and chromium
quantities of iron-based parts, correctly speaking plating are all used.
steel parts, are supplied in the hardened and However, it is important to note that low
20 tempered condition. Conventional hardening density parts should be sealed - e.g. by resin
processes are used, but because of the porosity impregnation - before plating, to prevent the
inherent in sintered parts, they should not be electrolyte from entering the pores and causing
immersed in corrosive liquids - salt baths, water, corrosion subsequently. Parts that have been oil-
or brine - since it is difficult to remove such quenched cannot be plated satisfactorily unless
materials from the pores. Heating should be in a the oil is removed before resin impregnation.
gas atmosphere followed by oil-quenching. Work has shown that it may be possible
These restrictions may not apply to very high successfully to plate unimpregnated porous parts
density parts (>7.2g/cc) nor to parts that have with nickel by electroless plating, which process
been infiltrated. will plate also the surfaces of any of the pores
into which the solution penetrates.
Surface-Hardening: Carburising and
carbonitriding of PM parts is extensively used, Coatings: A large percentage of hardmetal
and again gaseous media are indicated. cutting tool inserts are now coated using
Because of the part's porosity, the 'case' is chemical vapour deposition (CVD) or physical
generally deeper and less sharply defined than vapour deposition (PVD).
with fully dense steels. The lower temperature PVD process also
allows steels to be given a wear resistant layer
Steam Treatment: A process peculiar to PM of TiC, TiN, Al2O3 or a combination of these
parts is steam-treatment, which involves materials and sintered high speed steel tools are
exposing the part at a temperature around also now being coated.
500°C to high pressure steam. This leads to the
formation of a layer of magnetite (iron oxide) on
all accessible surfaces and a number of
desirable property changes result.
Firstly the corrosion resistance is increased by
the filling of some of the porosity
Secondly, this reduction in porosity of the
surface layer leads also to improved
compressive strength.
Thirdly, the oxide layer significantly increases
the surface hardness and more importantly the
wear resistance.
Steam-treatment is often followed by dipping in Above- Fig 13: Watch Parts, courtesy of ETA S.A.
oil which enhances the blue/black appearance Below - Fig 14: Titanium Aluminium Nitride Coated Drill
and still further increases the corrosion Bits, courtesy of Hilti AG
resistance. The treatment is not generally
applicable to hardened and tempered parts
because the exposure to the high temperature
would undo the hardening.

Blueing: Heating in air at a lower temperature

(200-250°C) can also be used to provide a thin
magnetite layer that gives some increase in
corrosion resistance, but it is much less effective
than steam treatment.
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 21

Machining: Although a major attraction of PM In addition to the normal lubricant, graphite is

parts is that they can be produced accurately to often added to the mixes used for porous bronze
the required dimensions, there are limitations to bearings. This is thought to assist in pore
the geometry that can be pressed in rigid dies, formation and, in addition, it acts as a lubricant
and subsequent machining, for example of in its own right. It is essential that the pores form
transverse holes or re-entrants at an angle to the an interconnected system of controlled size and 21
pressing direction is not uncommon. volume, so that oil is supplied to the entire
The existence of porosity alters the machining bearing surface.
characteristics and in general tool wear is The rate of oil supply automatically increases
greater than with the same composition in the with temperature and, therefore, with increasing
fully dense form. Carbide tools are
speeds of rotation, to achieve optimum working
recommended, and lower cutting speeds may be
conditions. For most applications, the porosity
necessary.
should lie between 20% and 35% by volume, the
The machinability can be improved by
upper limit being imposed by strength
incorporating certain additions in the powder mix
- e.g. lead, copper, graphite, sulphur or a metal considerations, which varies inversely with its
sulphide such as manganese sulphide, and, as porosity.
already indicated, by infiltration or resin Additionally porous bearings made of iron,
impregnation. iron copper, or iron mixed with bronze may be
If these points are borne in mind all the used in non-critical applications, but 90/10
traditional machining processes - turning, milling, bronze is the most widely used, having a low
drilling, tapping, grinding, etc. - can be done coefficient of friction, high wear resistance, and
quite readily. also resistance to seizure with the still shaft.
The processing steps are compacting at
De-burring: De-burring is done with sintered between 150 and 230MPa, sintering at
parts, and is used to remove any 'rag' on edges, approximately 800°C for between 5 and 10
resulting from the compacting operation or a minutes, followed by sizing and oil-impregnation.
machining step. Tumbling, sometimes in a liquid Very high production rates are possible because
medium with an abrasive powder, is normally of the short sintering times required. Iron-based
employed. At the same time, brushing and some bearings have the advantage of greater strength
hardening of the surface layers may occur. and, in addition, their coefficient of thermal
expansion is of the same order as that of the
steel shaft.
PRODUCTS AND Compacting is carried out between 230 and
APPLICATIONS 380MPa, followed by sintering in combusted gas
atmospheres or cracked ammonia at 1100°C to
Porous Bearings: The advantage of porous 1150oC for approximately 30 to 45 minutes,
bearings is that the pores can be filled with sizing and impregnation.
lubricating oil, so that the bearing requires no
further lubrication during the whole life of the
machine in which it is used.
Typically these are made of bronze. Starting
materials may be mixed elemental powders of
copper and tin, fully pre-alloyed bronze powder,
or mixtures of the three. If pre-alloyed bronze is
used, shrinkage on sintering normally results,
while, with elemental powder, a significant
growth can be obtained.
Clearly it is possible by using the appropriate
proportion of pre-alloyed bronze to achieve a
situation in which the dimensions of the finished
part are approximately the same as those of the
die. In this way the compacting tools may be
used for the sizing operation, which is essential Fig 15: Self-lubricating PM Bearings, courtesy of Oilite
with bearings in order to 'true-up' the part. Bearings Ltd
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 22

namely low strength, poor heat conductivity, and

high thermal expansion, by incorporating a metal
powder in the plastic. Bronze is normally used in
this application.
Alternatively, a porous metal bearing, generally
22 bronze, may be impregnated with PTFE. This
applies especially to steel-backed bearings.

Fig 16: PM Bearings

Non Porous Bearings: Bearings of copper/lead

or copper/tin/lead (leaded bronze) made from
powder. For heavy duty applications, steel
backed bearings of copper/lead or
copper/tin/lead (leaded bronze) made from
powder are widely used
Large-scale production is carried out under Fig 17: Filters - image supplied by Porvair Ltd.
continuous processing conditions, whereby the
powder is loose-sintered onto a steel backing-
strip, rolled to a density approaching theoretical Filters: Controlled porosity is also employed in
and to the required thickness, and finally the manufacture of metal filters and diaphragms.
annealed. In addition to the economic advantage They have the advantage over their ceramic
of this production method in comparison with counterparts of higher strength and resistance to
cast alloys, a superior microstructure and better mechanical and thermal shock.
properties are obtained. The close control over the pore size and
Lead, although soluble in molten copper and permeability is achieved by the use of powders
bronze, is practically insoluble in the solid metal. having a narrow range of particle size. Perhaps
Thus, when such alloys are made as castings, the most commonly used filter elements are
the lead is rejected and appears as a coarse, made of bronze (89/11 Cu/Sn), and spherical
non-uniformly distributed second phase. powders are used.
In the production of powders, which is done by The filter profile is formed by a loose packing
atomisation, the droplets are cooled very rapidly of the powder in the mould and the inherently
so that a uniform distribution of very fine lead poor compressibility of spheres is no
inclusions results. For this application, spheroidal disadvantage. Where products are required to
powders are used because they are more free have limited or localised porosity, conventional
flowing and pack to a higher density than pressing is necessary and irregularly shaped
irregular particles. particles are more suitable.
The demand for materials that can operate Metal filters are available in a wide range of
under conditions, where the presence of oil or materials including copper, nickel, bronze,
grease is unacceptable, has led to the stainless steel and 'Monel', and are widely used
development of the dry bearing. The PTFE for the filtration of fuel oils, chemical solutions
bearing is an outstanding example in this class. and emulsions. They are also efficient in
Polytetrafluorethylene (Fluon or Teflon) is a separating liquids of varying surface tension, and
polymer of carbon and fluorine, which has an have been successfully applied to jet engine
extremely low coefficient of friction and is stable fuels, where water is removed at the same time
up to 300°C under almost all corrosive and as the fuel is filtered. Similar devices are widely
oxidising conditions. It is possible to overcome used for sound damping on air compressors and
the inherent disadvantages of massive PTFE, the like.
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 23

Friction Materials: Sintered metal friction based on iron, and iron powders are significantly
components are particularly useful for heavy- more expensive than iron in the solid state.
duty applications, e.g. aircraft brakes, heavy The cost savings that enable this disadvantage
machinery clutch and brake linings etc.. to be overcome are basically twofold:
They consist essentially of a continuous metal (a) sintered parts can be produced directly to
matrix, into which varying amounts of non- the specified dimensions, markedly reducing the 23
metallic friction generators, such as silica and amount of machining required or eliminating it
emery are bonded. completely;
Compositions tend to be complex in view of (b) in consequence of (a) material usage is
the characteristics required, and may include very much better, scrap being almost negligible.
copper, tin, iron, lead, graphite, carborundum, The saving in machining costs as a proportion
silica, alumina, emery and asbestos substitutes. of the total cost is likely to be greater the smaller
The sintered material has a high thermal the part and until recently, the bulk of parts
conductivity and may be used over a wide range produced from powder were small, less than
of temperature. Satisfactory performance figures 450g in weight.
have been reported for copper-based materials, Another factor is that the size and, therefore,
operating at surface temperatures up to 800°C the cost of presses increases with the size of the
and from iron-based materials up to 1000°C. part being made. For this reason the
Their resistance to wear is superior to resin- compressibility of the powder mix is of major
bonded materials, and therefore, permits the use importance, and has militated against the use of
of components of thinner section. Because of the prealloyed steel powders which, inevitably,
large surface area, and this thinness of section, require greatly increased pressures to make
the components are relatively weak. Mechanical compacts of the required density.
strength is imparted by bonding the friction When strengths greater than those obtainable
element to a steel backing-plate, either by with 'pure' iron powder are required, it is
brazing or welding, or by sintering the two customary to add powder of alloying elements to
components together under pressure. the mix. The choice is restricted to elements that
Compared with solid phosphor bronze or do not oxidise in commercial protective
aluminium bronze friction elements, the sintered atmospheres and, in practice, copper is the most
material offers many advantages. The most widely used.
important is probably the much wider range of Copper has the advantage of melting at a
friction characteristics, which can be obtained temperature below the sintering temperature
from variations in the dispersion of non-metallic used for iron (1120°C) and, therefore, alloying is
particles. rapid.
The cheapest strengthening element for iron
Structural Parts: The bulk of structural parts is is, of course, carbon, but its use in sintered parts
based on iron, but significant quantities of depends on the ability to control the composition,
copper, brass, nickel silver and bronze parts are and this has driven the trend towards the use of
also made sintering atmospheres that are "carbon-neutral"
i.e. neither carburising nor decarburising (e.g.
Ferrous Structurals Parts: In the applications synthetic nitrogen-hydrogen mixes). Copper and
dealt with in the other sections, the powder copper plus carbon remain the most widely used
metallurgy process is used to produce materials additions.
having special characteristics that either cannot Nickel and molybdenum are also used as
be achieved in any other way or that can be hardenability additions, but it is important that
achieved only with great difficulty. such additions be homogenously mixed to
In the case of structural parts, the justification ensure a well-controlled response. This
for using PM is, in many cases, quite different. requirement led to the development of diffusion-
No special technical merit is claimed for the alloyed (or "partially pre-alloyed") grades from
product in comparison with similar parts made by the mid-1970s. These grades involved the use of
alternative processes-casting, forging, stamping. a low temperature diffusion process to "tack" fine
The justification is economic, i.e. there is a particles of alloying additions (Ni, Mo or Cu) to
cost saving. At first sight this may seem difficult the high compressibility base iron powder
to understand. The bulk of structural parts is
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 24

particles. This technique combines high and sintering densification operations (e.g. Surface
reproducible hardenability with retention of the Cold Rolling).
high compressibility of the base powder. As a further means of establishing higher
Additions such as graphite and lubricant performance structural part applications, the
cannot be attached to the base iron powder by on-line Global PM Property Database (GPMD)
24 diffusion and this has led to the development of was developed and launched in 2004 as a tool
"bonded pre-mixes" in which the additions are for designers and engineers
held in place using an adhesive binder. Bonded
pre-mixes were first introduced in the late 1980s The other major area of advance in ferrous
and, since 2000, grades have become available parts over the years has been an attack on
where all alloying additions are bonded to the limitations as to geometry. For instance these
base iron as an alternative to diffusion alloying. can, in some cases, be overcome by making two
These grades can show benefits over their parts and joining them, e.g. during the sintering
diffusion-alloyed counterparts in terms of higher process, by using materials for the different parts
apparent density and improved flow of the assembly that give different size changes
characteristics. in sintering to create mechanical interference
In recent years, a number of high strength and eventually diffusion bonding, or after
binder-treated grades have been developed that sintering using joining processes such as copper
make use of lower cost hardenability agents brazing or projection welding.
such as chromium, manganese and silicon. As
some of these elements form more stable
oxides, the sintering of such grades often
requires greater attention to the dew-point of the
atmosphere and/or the use of higher sintering
temperatures.
During the past decade, it has been
recognised that certain alloying additions
(particularly Mo) create little or no deterioration
in compressibility in full pre-alloying.
Consequently, a number of Mo-containing
grades have been introduced, Some of these
grades, with up to 1.5% Mo, have been
specifically developed to make use of their
superior hardenability in case hardening. Powder
grades, combining prealloying with Mo and
diffusion alloying or bonded mixing of the other Fig 18: Graph showing Ultimate Tensile Strength v
alloy additions, are now available. Some of these Density, from the GPMD
grades have been specifically developed to
respond to sinter-hardening.
Infiltration also is used to increase strength,
the most common infiltrant being copper with a
small percentage each of iron and manganese to
avoid erosion. It is not necessary to infiltrate the
whole part; quite often local infiltration of highly
stressed areas is sufficient.
Achievable strength in ferrous structural parts
has also been enhanced significantly over the
past two decades by a range of process
developments aimed at creating higher density
levels. These comprise developments at the
compaction stage (e.g. High pressure cold
compaction, Warm Compaction, High Velocity
Compaction), during sintering (e.g. Activated Fig 19: Planetary Carrier for Automotive Transmission
Sintering, Ferrite-phase Sintering) or in post- courtesy of Ames SA
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:45 Page 25
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:46 Page 26

In this way, undercuts and transverse projections PM structural parts also have a number of
can be incorporated. important non-automotive markets:
Another device for achieving similar results is - DIY hand power tools
the use of 'split-die' i.e. a die, which is in two - Domestic appliances
pieces with the junction at right angles to the - Business machines
26 pressing direction. The compact is removed by - Leisure and garden
separating the two halves and taking the - Industrial motors and controls
compact out in the middle. This process is - Hardware (lock parts, latches etc.)
known as the Olivetti process.
These advances both in geometrical A selection of these applications is illustrated in
complexity and performance level have led to a the product photographs in this publication, and
great expansion in the types of PM structural on the EPMA website-www.epma.com.
part applications.
The automotive sector has emerged as the Non Ferrous Structural Parts: The production
dominant customer industry for PM structural of structural parts in non-ferrous materials is on
parts - worldwide, 75-80% of all PM structural a much smaller scale but significant quantities of
parts go to the automotive sector. Automotive copper, brass, nickel silver, and bronze parts are
applications are now quite diverse, but engine made, and the production of aluminium from
and transmission components are particularly powder is now developing.
important, accounting for at least 70% of total Bronze: In the case of bronze there is an
automotive usage. important technical advantage. Because of the
wide freezing range of copper/tin alloys it is
Engine applications include: difficult to avoid serious inter-dendritic porosity in
- Engine timing pulleys, sprockets and hubs bronze castings, and pressure-tight pump bodies
- Valve train parts - valve seat inserts, valve and other hydraulic fittings are difficult to cast
guides, valve timing control and coupling without a significant percentage of rejects.
devices By using the powder route, this problem is
- Balancer gears overcome, since, although there is normally a
- Main bearing caps percentage of porosity in the sintered part, this is
- Engine management sensor rings in the form of separate small holes rather than
- Oil and water pump gears the interconnected porosity found in castings. Of
course, we are talking of densities much higher
Transmission applications feature in both manual than those of self-lubricating bearings.
and automatic transmissions:
- Synchroniser system parts
- Clutch hubs
- Gear shift components
- Planetary gears and carriers
- Turbine hubs
- Clutch and pocket plates

PM parts feature in other automotive systems:

- Shock absorber components - piston rod
guides, piston valves and end valves
- Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) sensor rings
- Exhaust flanges and oxygen sensor bosses
(a major application for PM stainless steel
parts)
- Gears and bearings in small electric motors
- Door lock parts

Fig 20: Synchronizer hubs, courtesy of PMG Füssen

GmbH
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:46 Page 27

Aluminium: the usage of PM aluminium parts have been developed.

has seen a significant recent growth, driven Powder forged steel parts can be heat treated
largely by the automotive sector's desire for in the same manner as wrought steels.
weight reduction. Camshaft bearing caps have Production costs in powder forging are
emerged as a leading application for PM generally higher than in conventional casting or
aluminium parts. forging due mainly to the high price of the 27
starting material and tooling. However, the high
Powder Forgings: Powder forging produces precision achieved in powder forging results in
fully dense PM steel parts, such as the considerable savings on machining costs and
automotive connecting rod. The production of hence savings on investments in machining
traditional PM parts has been expanding at a operations.
significantly faster rate than the general growth This has particularly proved to be the case for
of engineering production and when it was powder forged connecting rods which have
originally developed in the 1970s powder forging gained a high market share in gasoline engine
or sinter forging was expected to alter applications due to their improved dimensional
fundamentally the scale of the PM industry. accuracy, higher dynamic properties, smoother
Process: In this process, a powder blank is running in the engine, and significant cost
pressed to a simple shape halfway between that savings.
of a forging billet and the required finished part. Companies in North America, Japan and
This compact, referred to as a preform, is Europe now have large powder forging
sintered and then hot forged to finished size and installations mainly to produce parts for the
shape in a closed die. The amount of automotive industry. Such parts can have inside
deformation involved is sufficient to give a final and outside spline forms, cam forms, and other
density very closely approaching that of the solid forms that require extensive machining.
metal and, consequently, the
mechanical properties are
comparable with those of material
forged from wrought bar
Advantages: Indeed the
mechanical properties may be
superior in some respects
because of the freedom of the
powder forged part from
directionality, the greater
homogeneity as regards
composition, and a finer
microstructure, as well as the
absence of internal discontinuities
resulting from ingot defects that
are possible in forgings made from
Fig 21: Powder Forged Conrod, courtesy of
cast metal. Metaldyne Sintered Components
An additional advantage is the dimensional
consistency achievable in consequence of the
accurate metering of the quantity of powder used In addition to the well known connecting rod,
Limitations: There are limitations to the steel other applications include bearing races, torque
compositions that can be successfully produced convertor hubs, and gears.
on a commercial scale.
Steels containing readily oxidisable elements Hardmetals and other Hard Materials:
such as chromium and manganese - which Hardmetal is the term used to signify a group of
happens to be also the cheaper strengthening sintered, hard, wear-resisting materials based on
elements - cannot easily be used, but special the carbides of one or more of the elements
compositions, generally containing as alloying tungsten, tantalum, titanium, molybdenum,
elements, nickel and molybdenum, the oxides of niobium and vanadium, bonded with a metal of
which are reduced in sintering atmospheres, lower melting point usually cobalt.
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:46 Page 28

Tungsten carbide is the most widely used. These a matrix, which gives maximum support to the
materials are commonly referred to as cemented diamonds in order to keep the tool sharp. Each
carbides or simply as carbides as, for example, cutting application therefore requires separate
carbide tools. By varying the carbide particle consideration, and matrix materials range from
size, the amount of binder metal, and the bronzes of different compositions to cemented
28 sintering conditions, the properties such as wear carbides.
resistance, impact strength, resistance to
cratering, and hot hardness may be optimised Electric and Magnetic Components:
for a given application. For example, in the case Electric components: Composite structures
of a wire drawing die, wear resistance is the attainable only by powder metallurgy methods
major requirement, but, for a cutting tool, have been used extensively in the manufacture
especially if subject to intermittent loading, high of electrical contacts and current collector
impact strength is required. brushes.
Individual parts are
produced by intensive milling
together of fine cobalt powder
with carbide powders of the
appropriate particle size -
generally from 0.5 microns to
10 microns average. The
milled powders are extremely
fine in comparison with those
used in ordinary PM
production, and consequently
do not flow readily if at all. It is
common practice therefore, to
form small agglomerates of
the powders in order to
facilitate filling of the dies.
Fig 22: Example of components made from hard
This process is called granulation. These
materials, courtesy of Sandvik Hard Materials AB
granules are mixed with a lubricant, and then
pressed in a die. The resulting compacts are It is possible to combine the desirable
pre-sintered in hydrogen or vacuo at about conducting properties and low contact resistance
900°C to remove the lubricant, and then sintered of silver or copper with the strength, heat-
at a higher temperature - usually between 1200° resistance, and resistance to arc erosion of
and 1500°C. In the pre-sintered state, the tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, etc or with the
material can be machined, and this technique is lubricating qualities of graphite.
used to produce short runs of parts that would Magnetic Components: Economic and
not justify the manufacture of a special tool set. technical advantages have also been found in
More commonly, the parts are pressed and the production of components for magnetic
sintered to the required shape and dimensions. applications. A range of soft magnetic materials
Hot pressing in carbon dies is also employed, can be processed by PM.
especially for large pieces, and hot isostatic Iron, silicon-iron and iron with about 5% of
pressing is now in commercial use. This latter is phosphorus are widely used in the manufacture
claimed to give much greater freedom from of pole pieces and armatures for DC application.
porosity. For AC application, eddy current losses must
Other materials having metallic borides or be minimised. Eddy current losses are found to
nitrides cemented with a binder metal are also be proportional to the square of the thickness of
known, but there have limited special the material serving as the flux path. This has
applications, and although they are hard been the main stimulus for the interest in Soft
materials, they are not normally included in the Magnetic Composite (SMC) materials. In these
term hardmetal as it is now defined. materials, the individual powder particles are
Diamond cutting tools are made by similar insulated from one another by a resin addition,
processes. In this case, it is important to provide
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:46 Page 29

which is cured in a baking process after terms, represent over 90% of the current market.
compaction, so that the thickness of the flux path Small permanent magnets of the Alnico,
becomes equivalent to the powder particle size. Cunife or Cunico types can be pressed and
A long-standing and important use of this type sintered to final shape and size, showing
of approach has been in the production of cores equivalent magnetic properties but finer grain
for self-inductance coils in high-frequency structures and better mechanical strengths than 29
communication equipment. Sintering in the similar cast materials.
accepted sense is not required, although a Higher strength hard magnets based on rare
thermal stabilisation or stress-relieving treatment earths are also processed by PM. The first such
is usually carried out to obtain optimum magnetic category to appear was the Sm-Co alloy
characteristics. materials. A more significant impact in the
Purity and close control of compositional market has however been created by the later
limits is very necessary, and electrolytic or Nd-Fe-B magnets, with their lower costs and
carbonyl powders and pre-alloyed permalloy- higher magnet energy product. Although hard
type powder are widely used as raw material. ferrites still dominate in tonnage terms, Nd-Fe-B
Recent developments in SMCs have magnets currently account for over 30% of the
concentrated on finding applicable insulating hard magnet market in sales value terms and
coatings to permit use at lower frequencies. this market share is still growing rapidly.
Progress hinges on the development of coatings
that will restrict eddy currents to the individual
powder particles while achieving a compacted POWDER ROLLING
density that will permit sufficient strength to
resist centrifugal forces and provide sufficient This term is applied to the process, now
magnetic flux at low cost to compete with steel established on an industrial scale, wherein a
laminations. metal powder is fed continuously into a rolling
Sintered high-permeability laminated mill which may be heated, and compacted
components in nickel-iron and permalloy-type between the rolls into strip. This strip is then
materials are also used for transformer passed through a sintering furnace and rerolled
applications, incorporating the direct rolling of to finished size.
powders into thin strips. In general, the product does not have any
Another class of magnetic materials, advantage over strip produced by rolling cast
processed by powder metallurgy methods, are billets, although in some cases superior
the ferrites or magnetic oxides. The combination homogeneity can be demonstrated as well as
of ferric oxide with bivalent oxides of freedom from laminations that can arise from
magnesium, nickel, manganese, copper, zinc, ingot defects.
etc, produces materials having a wide range of
both soft and permanent
magnetic properties. The 'soft
ferrite' has found the widest
application in the manufacture of
cores for radio and television.
Hard (or Permanent) Magnetic
Materials: Today, the vast
majority of hard magnets are
processed by PM:
As mentioned already, ferrites
can exhibit hard magnetic
properties and, indeed, this was
the first hard magnetic material
type to be processed from
powders, from around 1930.
Because of their low costs, hard
ferrites are still the most
Fig 23: Rain sensor ring, courtesy of GKN PLC
frequently used hard magnets and, in tonnage
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:46 Page 30

The main advantage is economic, and depends - freedom from ingot defects; and
on the following features: - fine and uniform distribution of secondary
phases (carbides and other hardening
- The yield of finished strip from castings is low precipitates).
- The cost of fettling the ingot, of the extensive
30 rolling, annealing and pickling, is considerable. The last results from the fact that each particle of
Powder rolling is economical therefore powder is virtually quenched from the liquid state
especially in cases where the metal is Similar advantages apply to high speed steels
produced cheaply as a powder directly during and these are now being produced from powder
the extraction process, e.g. nickel. by two different routes:
- In the case of a material that work-hardens (1) irregular, water atomized powders are cold
rapidly and, therefore, requires many compacted either in rigid dies or isostatically, and
intermediate annealing and pickling operations then sintered in vacuum to give individual pieces
during reduction of a rolling slab, e.g. stainless of near finished shape and size; and
steel. (2) in a process analogous to that described
The production of small quantities of special for superalloys, gas atomised (spherical)
materials by powder rolling is increasing for powder is HIPped and extruded to produce
applications such as cobalt- or nickel-base alloy wrought material.
strip for welding, nickel-iron strip for controlled A number of processes for the production of
expansion properties, special Cu-Ni-Sn alloys for near net shapes have been developed.
electronics, porous nickel strip for alkaline Many of these were pseudo-isostatic hot
batteries and fuel cell electrodes, composite pressing, the pressure being applied by a
bearings, etc hydraulic press to a solid medium in which the
powder or powder compact is embedded, the
medium being such that, at the operating
OTHER PRODUCTS MADE temperature, it transmits pressure in all
FROM POWDER directions as if it were a fluid.
One such process is the Ceracon process
Developments designed to produce, from already described. Another is the so-called fluid
powder, engineering components that are not die process in which powder is contained in a
merely as good as those currently in production die made of a metal that is so soft at the
by alternative routes, but to produce better compacting temperature that it behaves
products, have been made possible by improved substantially as a fluid.
atomisation techniques that produce clean Superalloy shapes have been made in this
powders of highly alloyed metals, such as high- way using copper/nickel alloys as the die
speed steels, and complex precipitation material.
hardenable alloys based on nickel and/or cobalt
with chromium, now commonly called
superalloys.

These powders are isostatically pressed in

evacuated metal cylinders and subsequently hot-
forged, still in the container, to give a dense
billet, which is then processed to the final shape
by conventional means.
The process depends on the use of inert gas,
usually argon, to atomise the metal, which has
been pre-alloyed by vacuum melting.
Increasingly centrifugal atomised powders are
favoured - e.g. those made by the REP process
already referred to.
The advantages of material produced are:
- much better uniformity of chemical Fig 24: An ‘as HIP’ High speed steel hollow bar used
for producing cutting tools - Courtesy Boehler
composition (lack of segregation); Uddeholm Powder Technology
layouts_v5.qxp 03/03/2008 10:46 Page 31

METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES best procedure. In this case, the object is not to
improve the strength but the electrical properties,
Metals having a dispersion of a finely divided i.e. the resistance to contact welding.
non-metallic phase have been known for many In other cases, the matrix metal sometimes in
years, the idea being to provide the the form of a salt is mixed with a solution of a
strengthening that is produced by precipitation salt of the metal with the more stable oxide and 31
hardening without the drawback that the second the mixture is heated in an atmosphere that is
phase goes into solution as the temperature reducing to the matrix metal but oxidising to the
rises thus limiting the operating temperature. second metal. ODS platinum and tungsten are
An early example was sintered aluminium made in this way.
powder (SAP) which was made by pressing and Other composites use fibres or whiskers as
sintering heavily oxidised aluminium flake the strengthening agent.
powder, the sintered material being subsequently A further process that represented a major
hot worked to break up the Al2O3 films and step forward in materials for very high
disperse them in finely divided form. temperature applications, gas turbines for jet
There was some improvement in the engines in particular, was mechanical alloying.
properties but it was insufficient to make large
scale use economical. This process involves milling, usually in an
The picture was, however, changed attritor, a mixture of a metal powder and a
dramatically as newer procedures for getting refractory material for long periods during which
very much finer dispersions of the non-metallic the refractory particles are broken up and
phase have been developed, and metal matrix incorporated in the metal. The 'alloyed' powder is
composites (MMC) as such materials are now subsequently compacted, sintered, and normally
called, represent a major step forward in the wrought by extrusion or hot rolling.
search for improved materials i.e. with better Superalloys made in this way are in service,
mechanical properties especially at elevated and mechanically alloyed aluminium alloys have
temperatures. Powder metallurgy is the most also been developed. In the case of aluminium,
important route by which such composites are another mechanical alloy is made by a similar
produced. milling process starting with a mixture of
In the majority of cases so far developed, the aluminium powder and graphite, which, during
strengthening phase is a stable oxide usually of the milling process, is incorporated in the metal
another metal and the term ODS - oxide as aluminium carbide. Al4C3.
dispersion strengthening - is in everyday use. Another class of wrought sintered material
A number of different processes are available that is beginning to make an impact is based on
for producing the very fine dispersions required. particulate material - powder or chopped ribbon -
In one process, an alloy of the matrix metal that has been solidified and cooled at a very
with the metal that forms the stable oxide is high rate such that metastable non-equilibrium
heated in an atmosphere that is reducing to the microstructures result. They may be
matrix metal but oxidising to the second metal. microcrystalline or amorphous.
The latter is converted to oxide uniformly The process is applicable only to certain
distributed throughout the matrix. alloys, and one important feature is that the
In the case of precious metals - Ag, Pt etc. - matrix metal can retain in solid solution a much
heating in air can be used and a range of higher than the equilibrium percentage of the
electrical contact materials consisting of silver alloying element.
with a dispersion of for instance Cd oxide, Sn Providing that the densification and
oxide, and/or In oxide are now widely used. mechanical working is carried out at a
The internal oxidation as the process is called temperature low enough to avoid destroying the
occurs as a result of the diffusion of oxygen non-equilibrium structure, remarkably enhanced
through the silver lattice and with large sections, mechanical properties can be achieved.
this is a lengthy process.
However, if powder is used, a relatively short
oxidising cycle is required so that the pressing
and sintering of internally oxidised powder is the
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
W D Jones, "Fundamental Principles of W Schatt and K-P Wieters, "Powder Metallurgy
Powder Metallurgy", Edward Arnold Ltd., - Processing and Materials", EPMA, Shrewsbury,
32 London, 1960. 1997.

H H Hausner, "Handbook of Powder R M German, "Powder Metallurgy and

Metallurgy", Chemical Publishing Corp, Particulate Materials Processing"
1973
R M German, "Powder Injection Molding -
ASM Handbook - Powder Metal Technologies Design and Application"
and Applications, Vol.7, ASM International
“Powder Metallurgy Design Manual", MPIF
L F Pease and W G West, "Fundamentals of
Powder Metallurgy" Powder Metallurgy - Materials, Processes and
Applications", CD ROM, EPMA
International Powder Metallurgy Directory and
Yearbook Series, published by Inovar Metal Injection Moulding - Manufacturing
Communications Ltd., Shrewsbury. Process for Precision Engineered Components,
EPMA

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