Manufacturing Technology I

ME 351
Lecture 20

2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Alternatives to Pressing and Sintering
Conventional press and sinter sequence is the most
widely used shaping technology in powder metallurgy
Three categories:
1. alternative compaction methods
2. combined compaction and sintering
3. alternative sintering methods
Additional methods for processing PM parts include:
Isostatic pressing
Hot pressing - combined pressing and sintering
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Fig 16.14 Cold isostatic pressing: (1) powders are placed in the flexible
mold; (2) hydrostatic pressure is applied against the mold to compact the
powders; and (3) pressure is reduced and the part is removed
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Powder Injection Molding (PIM) or
Metal Injection Molding (MIM)
The steps in MIM proceed as follows:
1. metallic powders are mixed with an appropriate
binder;
2. granular pellets are formed from the mixture;
3. the pellets are heated to molding temperature,
injected into a mold cavity, and the part is cooled
and removed from the mold;
4. the part is processed to remove the binder using
any of several thermal or solvent techniques;
5. the part is sintered
6. secondary operations are performed as appropriate.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Powder Injection Molding (PIM) or
Metal Injection Molding (MIM)
The five basic types of binders in PM are:
1. thermosetting polymers, such as
phenolics;
2. thermoplastic polymers, such as
polyethylene;
3. water;
4. gels;
5. inorganic materials.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Powder Rolling
Fig 16.15 Powder rolling: (1) powders are fed through compaction
rolls to form a green strip; (2) sintering; (3) cold rolling; and (4)
resintering.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Powder Extrusion
Powders are placed in a vacuum-tight sheet
metal can, heated, and extruded with the
container.
In another variation, billets are performed by a
conventional press and sinter process, and
then the billet is hot extruded.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Powder Forging

The starting workpart is a powder metallurgy
part performed to proper size by pressing and
sintering.
Advantages:
1. Densification of the PM part,
2. Lower tooling costs and fewer forging hits
(and therefore higher production rate)
because the starting workpart is preformed,
and
3. Reduced material waste.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Combined Pressing and Sintering

Hot Pressing
The setup is very similar to conventional PM pressing,
except that heat is applied during compaction.
Principal technical problems:
1. Selecting a suitable mold material that can withstand
the high sintering temperatures;
2. Longer production cycle required to accomplish
sintering; and
3. Heating and maintaining atmospheric control in the
process.
The resulting product is generally dense, strong, hard,
and dimensionally accurate.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Spark Sintering

Two basic steps:
1. Powder or green compacted preform is placed
in a die; and
2. Upper and lower punches, which also serve
as electrodes, compress the part and
simultaneously apply a high-energy electrical
current that burns off surface contaminants
and sinters the powders, forming a dense,
solid part in about 15 seconds.
This process overcomes some of the
problems in hot pressing.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e

Liquid-phase Sintering (Fe-Cu; W-Cu; Cu-Co)

Dynamic powder-compaction techniques: the use of chemical
explosives, high pressure guns, or electromagnetic or
mechanical pneumatic power sources; 100-1000 kbar.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Materials and Products for PM
Raw materials for PM are more expensive than
for other metalworking because of the
additional energy required to reduce the metal
to powder form
Accordingly, PM is competitive only in a certain
range of applications
What are the materials and products that seem
most suited to powder metallurgy?
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
PM Materials Elemental Powders
A pure metal in particulate form
Applications where high purity is important
Common elemental powders:
Iron
Aluminum
Copper
Elemental powders can be mixed with other
metal powders to produce alloys that are
difficult to formulate by conventional methods
Example: tool steels
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
PM Materials Pre-Alloyed Powders
Each particle is an alloy comprised of the desired
chemical composition
Common pre-alloyed powders:
Stainless steels
Certain copper alloys
High speed steel

2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
PM Products
Gears, bearings, sprockets, fasteners,
electrical contacts, cutting tools, and various
machinery parts
Advantage of PM: parts can be made to near
net shape or net shape
When produced in large quantities, gears and
bearings are ideal for PM because:
The geometry is defined in two
dimensions
There is a need for porosity in the part to
serve as a reservoir for lubricant
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
PM Parts Classification System
The Metal Powder Industries Federation
(MPIF) defines four classes of powder
metallurgy part designs, by level of difficulty in
conventional pressing
Useful because it indicates some of the
limitations on shape that can be achieved
with conventional PM processing
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Figure 16.16 (a) Class I Simple thin shapes, pressed from one
direction; (b) Class II Simple but thicker shape requires
pressing from two directions; (c) Class III Two levels of
thickness, pressed from two directions; and (d) Class IV
Multiple levels of thickness, pressed from two directions,
with separate controls for each level.
Four Classes of PM Parts
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Design Guidelines for PM Parts - I
Economics usually require large quantities to
justify cost of equipment and special tooling
Minimum quantities of 10,000 units are
suggested
PM is unique in its capability to fabricate parts
with a controlled level of porosity
Porosities up to 50% are possible
PM can be used to make parts out of unusual
metals and alloys - materials that are difficult if
not impossible to produce by other means
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Design Guidelines for PM Parts - II
Part geometry must permit ejection from die
Part must have vertical or near-vertical
sides, although steps are allowed
Design features like holes and undercuts on
part sides must be avoided
Vertical undercuts and holes are permissible
because they do not interfere with ejection
Vertical holes can have cross-sectional
shapes other than round without significant
difficulty
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Figure 16.17 Part features to be avoided in PM: side holes and
(b) side undercuts since part ejection is impossible.
Side Holes and Undercuts
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Fig 16.18 Permissible part features in PM: (a) vertical hole, blind and
through, (b) vertical stepped hole, and undercut in vertical direction.
These features allow part ejection.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Design Guidelines for PM Parts - III
Screw threads cannot be fabricated by PM
They must be machined into the part
Chamfers and corner radii are possible in PM
But problems occur in punch rigidity when
angles are too acute
Wall thickness should be a minimum of 1.5 mm
(0.060 in) between holes or a hole and outside
wall
Minimum recommended hole diameter is 1.5
mm (0.060 in)
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Figure 16.19 Chamfers and corner radii are accomplished but certain
rules should be observed: (a) avoid acute angles; (b) larger angles
preferred for punch rigidity; (c) inside radius is desirable; (d) avoid
full outside corner radius because punch is fragile at edge; (e)
problem solved by combining radius and chamfer.
Chamfers and Corner Radii
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e
Fig 16.20 Minimum recommended wall thickness (a) between
holes or (b) between a hole and outside wall should be 1.5 mm.
2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M P Groover, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 3/e

Problem 16.13 The part shown in Figure P16.13 is to be pressed
of iron powders using a compaction pressure of
75,000 lb/in2. Dimensions are inches. Determine (a) the most
appropriate pressing direction, (b) the
required press tonnage to perform this operation, and (c) the final
weight of the part if the porosity is
10%. Assume shrinkage during sintering can be neglected.