Steps Involved in Powder Metallurgy Process

Powder metallurgy is a branch of material science which deals with manufacturing of products from the
powders of the materials. This metallurgical process is gaining importance day by day. Some of the most
important applications of the powder metallurgical parts are

a. Porous bearings which are prepared by this process are used for starters, clutches, brakes, wipers, shafts etc.
b. The powders plays a prominent role in the defense for the development of the aircrafts, missiles etc
c. Productions of super alloys which are used for sustaining very high temperatures are possible only to
manufacture by this method.
d. Metal powders play very important role in aerospace for the manufacturing of rockets, satillites etc
e. Many miscellaneous applications like preparation of watches, timing devices, type writer, adding machines
etc.

The whole process in powder metallurgy for manufacturing a part comprises six steps
. They are
1) Generation of powder
2) Blending or mixing
3) Compacting
4) Sintering
5) Sizing (or) impregnation
6) Inspection

Generation of powder

Powders are manufactured by various methods. The size of the powder largely effects the properties of the
part produced. Some of the methods to generate the powders are
1) Mechanical processes
a. Machining
b. Crushing
c. Milling
d. Shotting
e. Graining
f. Atomization
2) Physical processes
a. Condensation
b. Thermal decomposition
3) Chemical processes
a. Reduction
b. Intergrannular corrosion
c. Generation of powders from aqueous solutions by precipitation
d. Electro chemical process
A right type of powder should be employed for producing a part with required properties.
Blending or mixing

Powders are to be blended or mixed properly for obtaining the required properties after sintering. In this
process the powder and blender are mixed together very finely. A lubricant is also employed some times to
reduce the friction and hence obtaining a finer mixing. The lubricant should be removed of the die before
submitting it for sintering as the presence of lubricant may change the properties of the final object. Many
types of blenders are being used for the manufacturing of various parts by powder metallurgy technique.

Compacting

Compacting is done for shaping of the powder in to the required shape. In this the mixed mixture is subjected
to pressure and due to the application of pressure the gap between the molecules gets reduced and the
powder becomes compact and gains sufficient strength to with stand ejection and handling. Pressures applied
on the powder should be strictly regulated as if low pressures are applied on then the part generated will be
very fragile in nature. If the pressure applied is more then there may be a deformation of tool. In general a
pressure of 1to 150N.m2. Compacting is done by various processes like,
a. Isostatic pressing
b. Explosive forming
c. Powder rolling or roll compacting
d. Powder extrusion
e. Vibratory compacting
In addition to the forming of poper shape compacting also have

other important effects

1) Density of the material is increased by removing the voids in the material

2) Adhesion and cold welding provides sufficient green strength to the part
3) Powders are plastically deformed by this due to this re crystallization occurs easily during sintering
4) Due to plastic deformation of the powder particles the contact area between the particles increases and
hence helping in developing the green strength of the particle and also facilitating subsequent sintering

Other than compaction

shaping of powders
can also be done by various other processes like
1) Hot compaction
2) Hot extrusion
3) Hot rolling
4) Hot isostatic compaction
5) Hot coning
6) Powder (or) sinter forging
Sintering

This process is carried out for increasing the strength and also the hardness of the part. In this the part is
subjected to heating without any pressure for certain period of time under highly controlled conditions.
Sintering is concerned with
a. Diffusion
b. Densification
c. Re crystalisation and grain growth

Diffusion

This occurs on the surface of the part when the temperature starts increasing

Densification

In this the porosity present in the green compact is reduced and compactness increases and particle contact
area also get increased. Due to this densification the part size gets reduced. This reduction in size of the part is
not uniform as the density varies so there may be a chance of failure to take place due to change in the
densities and volume.

Recrystallization and grain growth

This occurs between the contact surface which leads to a structure similar to the original component to be
produced.

Depending on the temperature of sintering these are classified in to two types

1) Solid phase sintering
2) Liquid phase sintering

Insolid phase sintering

the part to be sintered is heated to a temperature above the Recrystallization temperature.

Inliquid phase sintering

the part to be sintered is heated to a temperature above the melting point of one of its components or the
melting point of the alloy formed.

It is very necessary to maintain a proper atmosphere while sintering. Vaccum is preferred than maintaining a
proper atmosphere. The atmosphere maintained during sintering may be either reducing or oxidizing or
neutral.
Of all reducing atmosphere is most commonly used.

Sizing or impregnation

From the above we understood that during the process of densification in sintering there may be a variation in
size. So after sintering the produced part is checked by using a master die and pressure is applied over the part.
This process is called sizing. Because of this process the interconnected porosity of the part gets closed and it
will be not possible to fill the pores with oil or any other metal. So sizing is not frequently adopted. A pre
machining operation is adopted before impregnation.

Testing and inspection

A component is to be checked clearly about its properties and other things before it is employed for the work.
Some of the most commonly performed tests are
1) Compressive strength
2) Tensile strength
3) Porosity
4) Density
5) Hardness
6) Composition
7) Microstructure etc.

Inspection is done on the size shape tolerances and the total number of defects. After all this if the parts is
qualified then it is used for the real time applications
The properties of the products obtained by sintering process depends on the following

parameters
1) Size of particles
2) Shape of particles
3) Distribution of particles
4) Porosity of particles
5) Density of particles
6) Chemical composition of particles
7) Surface characteristics of particles
8) Compacting pressure
9) Type of lubricant used during mixing (or) blending
10) Sintering temperature
11) Sintering time
12) Sintering type employed
13) Type of atmosphere maintained
 Some of the products made by powder metallurgy are turbine blades, tungsten carbide cutting tools, and self
lubricating bearings.
In some cases non-metallic powders may also be added to improve the properties.
Methods for producing the metal powders:
The flowing processes are used to produce metal powder.
Atomization: Molten metal is forced through a nozzle. The water stream is used to solidify the metal passed
through the nozzle. The size of metal particle is controlled by the rate of flow of metal, size of nozzle and
pressure of water stream.
Electrolysis: The deposited metal is milled and pulverized for desired grain size. Purest form of metal powder
can be obtained by this process.
Reduction process: Metal powders are obtained by reducing refined ores. Iron, tungsten and nickel powders are
produced by this process.
Mechanical pulverization: It is the process of conversion the metals into small grains by crushing. Brittle metals
can be easily broken down to small particles by this method.
Machining: The coarse particles produced by this method are converted into fine powder through grinding and
ball milling.

Advantages:
 P/M is Cost effective for mass production due to absence of labour cost, further machining cost etc.
 This process does not require high skilled operator.
 Some alloys can only produce by P/M technology.
 High production rate. It can produced 500 to 1000 pieces in one hour.
 Complex Shape can produce.
 Bimetallic and laminated product can be easily produced by P/M method.
Disadvantages:
 High equipment cost.
 It is economical only for mass production.
 Intricate designs is difficult to produce due to less flow ability of metal powder.
 It cannot produce a complete uniform dense product.
 Size of the product is restricted due to capacity of press.
 Some metals powder, which can produce explosion in powder form, cannot be used.
 Low impact and fatigue property of final product.
 It is difficult to cast low melting point metals by P/M technology.
 Application:
 Cutting tools like cemented carbide tool, ceramic tool etc. are Powder metallurgy product.
 Electric bushes made by mixing Cu and Ag with graphite is P/M product.
 Nozzles for rocket and missiles.
 Small parts in automotive and appliance applications where the ability to produce a nearly final shape requiring a
minimum machining, provides a strong economic advantage.
 Bearing, Bushes etc.
 Magnetic soft metals like Fe, Fe-3Si etc. can easily formed into final shape by P/M.