Material Processes II

Powder Metallurgy
 Overview of powder metallurgy

 The Characterization of Engineering Powders

 Materials and Products for PM

 Production of Metallic Powders

 Using them to make finished/semi-finished products.

 Conventional Pressing and Sintering

 Alternative Pressing and Sintering Techniques

 Design Considerations in Powder Metallurgy

 Introduction
 Metal processing technology in which parts are produced from metallic
powders.

 Earliest use of iron powder dates back to 3000 BC.

Egyptians used it for making tools.

 Modern era of P/M began when W lamp filaments

were developed by Edison.

 Components can be made from pure metals,

alloys, or mixture of metallic and non-metallic powders.

 Commonly used materials are iron, copper, aluminium, nickel, titanium,

brass, bronze, steels and refractory metals

 Used widely for manufacturing gears, cams, bushings, cutting tools,

piston rings, connecting rods, impellers etc.
 Introduction
 Powder metallurgy refer to the process by which fine powdered metals
are blended, compressed/pressed into a desired shape, and then
heated/Sintered to cause bonding of the particles into a hard, rigid
mass.
 Introduction
Why is Powder Metallurgy important?
 PM parts can be mass produced to net shape or near net shape,
eliminating or reducing the need for subsequent machining.

 PM process wastes very little material - about 97% of the starting

powders are converted to product.

 PM parts can be made with a specified level of porosity, to produce

porous metal parts. Examples: filters, oil-impregnated bearings, gears…

 Certain metals that are difficult to fabricate by other methods can be

shaped by powder metallurgy. Example: Tungsten filaments for
incandescent lamp bulbs are made by PM.

 Certain alloy combinations made by PM cannot be produced in other

ways.

 PM production methods can be automated for economical production.

 Introduction
Disadvantages of Powder Metallurgy

 Tooling and equipment costs are high.

 Metallic powders are expensive.

 There are difficulties with storing and handling metal powders

(such as degradation of the metal over time, and fire hazards
with particular metals).

 There are limitations on part geometry because metal powders

do not readily flow laterally in the die during pressing, and
allowances must be provided for ejection of the part from the
die after pressing.

 Variations in material density throughout the part may be a

problem in PM, especially for complex part geometries.
 Materials and Products for Powder Metallurgy
Powder metallurgy Products

 Porous or permeable products such as bearings, filters, and

pressure or flow regulators

 Products made from materials that are difficult to machine or

materials with high melting points

 Products where the combined properties of two or more metals

are desired

 Products where the P/M process produces clearly superior

properties

 Products where the P/M process offers economic advantage.

 Materials and Products for Powder Metallurgy
Powder metallurgy Products
 Some of the components commonly manufactured by powder
metallurgy are:
 Gears
 Bearings
 Sprockets
 Fasteners
 Electrical contacts
 Cutting tools
 Various machinery parts.

 When produced in large quantities, metal gears and bearings are

particularly well suited to PM for two reasons:
 The geometry is defined principally in two dimensions, so the part has
a top surface of a certain shape, but there are no features along the
sides.
 There is a need for porosity in the material to serve as a reservoir for
lubricant.
 Materials and Products for Powder Metallurgy
Powder metallurgy Materials
 Raw materials for PM are more expensive than for other metalworking
because of the additional energy required to reduce the metal to
powder form.

 Largest tonnage of metals are alloys of iron, steel, and aluminum

 Other PM metals include copper, nickel, and refractory metals such as

molybdenum and tungsten

 Metallic carbides such as tungsten carbide are often included within the
scope of powder metallurgy
 Materials and Products for Powder Metallurgy

Powder metallurgy Materials

Metal powders can be classified as either elemental or pre-
alloyed.

a.Elemental powders

A pure metal in particulate form

Applications where high purity is important e.g. pure iron might be

used where its magnetic properties are important.

Common elemental powders: – Iron – Aluminum – Copper

Elemental powders are also mixed with other metal powders to

produce special alloys that are difficult to formulate using
conventional processing methods e.g. Tool steels
 Materials and Products for Powder Metallurgy

Powder metallurgy Materials

b. Pre alloyed powders

 In pre-alloyed powders, each particle is an alloy composed of

the desired chemical composition.

 Used for alloys that cannot be formulated by mixing elemental

powders e.g. stainless steel.

 Common pre-alloyed powders are:

 Copper alloys,

 Stainless steel

 High-speed steel.
 Characterization of Metallic Powders
 A powder can be defined as a finely divided particulate solid.

 Metallic powders can be characterized according to:

a. Geometric features
 Particle size and distribution.

 Particle shape and internal structure

 Surface are

Several of the possible (ideal) particle shapes in powder metallurgy.

 Characterization of Metallic Powders
 Metallic powders can be characterized according to:
b. Interparticle friction and flow characteristic cs

 Friction between particles affects the ability of a powder to flow readily

and pack tightly.

 A common test of inter-particle friction is the angle of repose, which is the

angle formed by a pile of powders as they are poured from a narrow
funnel.
 Smaller particle sizes generally show greater
friction and steeper angles.

 Spherical shapes result in the lowest

interparticle friction; as shape deviates more
from spherical, friction between particles
tends to increase.

 Lubricants are often added to the powder to

reduce interparticle friction and facilitate flow
during pressing
Characterization of Metallic Powders
 Characterization of Metallic Powders
 Metallic powders can be characterized according to:

d. Chemistry and surface films

 In terms of chemistry, Metallic powders are classified as either:

 elemental, consisting of a pure metal, or

 pre-alloyed, wherein each particle is an alloy.

 Surface films are a problem in powder. The possible films include

oxides, silica, adsorbed organic materials, and moisture. These films

must be removed before shape processing.

 Powder Metallurgy Process

Powder production

Blending or mixing

Powder compaction

Sintering

Finishing operation
 PM production sequence
 Blending and mixing (rotating drums, blades
and screw mixers)

 Pressing – powders are compressed into

desired shape to produce green compact.

Accomplished in press using punch-and-

die tooling designed for the part.

 Sintering - green compacts are heated to

bond the particles into a hard, rigid mass.

Performed at temperatures below the

melting point of the metal.
PM production sequence
 Powder production
 Virtually any metal can be made into powder form.

 There are three principal methods by which metallic powders

are commercially produced, each of which involves energy
input to increase the surface area of the metal. The methods
include:
 Atomization (by gas , water and centrifugal)
A process where liquid metal is fragmented into small droplets that
cool and solidify into particles
 Chemical
 Electrolytic

 In addition, mechanical methods are occasionally used to

 Gas atomization
 High velocity gas stream (air or inert gas: Argon, Nitrogen or
Helium) is utilized to atomize the liquid metal.

 This can be done in two ways:

a. The gas flows through an expansion nozzle, siphoning molten
metal from the melt below and spraying it into a container.

Droplets solidify into powder form.

b. Molten metal flows by gravity through a nozzle and is immediately

atomized by air jets.

 The molten metal in both cases is disintegrated and collected

as atomized powder (spherical in shape) in the collection
chamber.
 Gas atomization
 High velocity gas stream (air or inert gas: Argon, Nitrogen or
Helium) is utilized to atomize the liquid metal.

 This can be done in two ways:

a. The gas flows through an expansion nozzle, siphoning molten
metal from the melt below and spraying it into a container.

Droplets solidify into powder form.

b. Molten metal flows by gravity through a nozzle and is immediately

atomized by air jets.

 The molten metal in both cases is disintegrated and collected

as atomized powder (spherical in shape) in the collection
chamber.
 Gas atomization

Figure: Gas atomization (a) Molten gas siphoned by high velocity gas, (b)
Moten metal flows by gravity.
 Water atomization
 High pressure water jets are used to bring about the disintegration of
molten metal stream.

 Water jets are mainly used due to their quenching ability.

 Cooling is more rapid , and the resulting powder is irregular rather

spherical.

 This process is inexpensive.

 Disadvantage of using water is

oxidation on the particle surface.

 Synthetic oil rather than water

can be used to reduce oxidation.

Figure: Water atomization

 Centrifugal atomization by the rotating disk method

 Liquid metal stream pours onto a rapidly rotating disk.

 This results in mechanical atomization of the metal stream and causes

the metal droplets to be thrown off the edges of the disk.

 The particles are spherical in shape and their size decreases with
increasing disk speed.
 Centrifugal atomization by the rotating
consumable electrode method.
 In this method, one end of the metal bar is heated and melted by
bringing it into contact with a non-consumable tungsten electrode,
while rotating it longitudinally at very high speeds.

 The centrifugal force created causes the metal drops to be thrown off
outwards.

 This will then be solidified as spherical

shaped particles inside an evacuated

chamber.

 Titanium powder can be made using

this technique
 Electrolytic deposition
 An electrolytic cell is set up in which the source of the desired
metal is the anode.
 The anode is slowly dissolved under an applied voltage,
transported through the electrolyte, and deposited on the
cathode.
 The deposit is removed, washed, and dried to yield a metallic
powder of very high purity.
 This technique is used for producing powders of beryllium,
copper, iron, silver, tantalum, and titanium.

Figure: Micro-copper powders

recovered from waste printed
circuit by electrolysis
 Chemical reduction
 Refer to chemical reactions by which metallic compounds are
reduced to elemental metal powders.

 One of the processes involves liberation of metals from their oxides by

use of reducing agents such as hydrogen or carbon monoxide.

 The reducing agent is made to combine with the oxygen in the

compound to free the metallic element.

 This approach is used to produce powders of iron, tungsten, and

copper.

Precipitation
 Precipitation of metallic elements from salts dissolved in water has also
be used to produce powders of copper, nickel, and cobalt.
 Powder Mixing and Blending
 Before further processing, metallic powders must be homogenized.

 They are also subjected to a variety of treatments to improve /modify

their physical and chemical characteristics. They include:
 Cleaning of powder to remove impurities.

 Drying to remove moisture.

 Grinding/crushing to obtain fine sizes

 Particle size classification to obtain the desired particle size distribution

 Mixing and blending of powders

 Lubricant addition such as stearates of zinc and aluminum, in small amounts

to reduce friction between particles and at the die wall during compaction.

 Addition of binders, which are required in some cases to achieve adequate

strength in the pressed but unsintered part.

 Addition of deflocculants, which inhibit agglomeration of powders for better

flow characteristics during subsequent processing.

 Powder coating
 Powder Mixing and Blending
 Solid impurities:
 Come from several sources like nozzles or crucible linings.
 Interfere with compaction and sintering preventing proper mechanical
bonding.
 They may also act as sites for crack nucleation and reduce the dynamic
properties of the sintered part.
 Can be removed by particle separators and electrostatic separation
techniques.

 Gaseous impurities:
 E.g. hydrogen and oxygen.
 May get into powders during processing , storage or handling if proper
care is not taken.
 They may form undesirable oxides during processing at relatively high
temperatures.
 They may also get trapped inside the material as pore thereby reducing
the in situ performance of the PM part.
 Degassing techniques like cold static or dynamic degassing methods are
used to remove adsorbed gasses from the powders.
 Powder Mixing and Blending
 Blending:
 refers to when powders of the same chemical composition but
possibly different particle sizes are intermingled. This is done:
 To obtain a uniform distribution of particle sizes, i.e. powders consisting
of different particle sizes are often blended to reduce porosity.

 For intermingling of lubricant with powders.

 Mixing:
 the process of combining powders of different chemistries such as
elemental powder mixes (Cu-Sn).

 An advantage of PM technology is the opportunity to mix various

metals into alloys that would be difficult or impossible to produce
by other means.
 Powder Mixing and Blending
 The various ways of blending and mixing metallic powders include:

Figure: (a) rotation in a drum, (b) rotation in a double-cone container, (c) Agitation in a
screw mixer, and (d) Stiring in a blade mixer.

 The containers are usually designed with internal baffles or other ways
of preventing free-fall during blending of powders of different sizes.

 Variation in settling rates between sizes may result in segregation.

 Compaction
 Application of high pressure to the powders to form them into the required
shape, known as green compact, with sufficient strength to withstand till
sintering is completed.

 The conventional compaction method is pressing, in which opposing

punches squeeze the powders contained in a die.

 As a result of pressing, the density of the part, called the green density, is
much greater than the starting bulk density.

 Powders do not flow like liquids, they simply compress until an equal and
opposing force is created.

 This opposing force is created from a combination of:

 resistance by the bottom punch and

 friction between the particles and die surface.

 Compaction

Figure: Typical compaction sequence for a single-level part

 Compaction
 The applied pressure in compaction results in

 Repacking of the powders into a more efficient arrangement.

 Eliminating “bridges” formed during filling.

 Reducing pore space.

 Increasing the number of contacting points between particles.

 As pressure increases, the particles are plastically deformed, causing interparticle

contact area to increase, additional particles to make contact and further
reduction in pore volume.
Figure:
a) Effect of applied pressure
during compaction: (1)
initial loose powders after
filling, (2) repacking. (3)
deformation of particles;
b) density of the powders as
a function of pressure.
Compaction
 Compaction
 When the pressure is applied by only one punch, the maximum density
occurs right below the punch surface and decreases away from the
punch.
Figure: Compaction with a single
moving punch, showing the
resultant nonuniform density
(shaded), highest where particle
movement is the greatest.

 For complex shapes, multiple punches should be used.

Figure: Density distribution

obtained with a double acting
press and two moving punches.
Note the increased uniformity.
Thicker parts can be effectively
compacted.

 Because particles tend to be abrasive, tool wear is a concern in

powder forming.
 Effects of compaction

 Increased compaction pressure

 Provides better packing of particles and leads to ↓ porosity

 ↑ localized deformation allowing new contacts to be formed

between particles
 Effects of compaction

 At higher pressures, the green density approaches density of the

bulk metal.
 Compaction pressure used depends on desired density.
 Compaction

Figure: (a)Compaction of metal powder to form bushing; (b)Typical tool and die set for
compacting spur gear
 Sintering
 This is a heat treatment operation performed on the pressed powder
compact, in a controlled atmosphere to bond its metallic particles,
thereby increasing strength and hardness.

 Carried out at temperatures between 0.7 and 0.9 of the metal’s melting
point.

 The primary driving force for sintering is reduction of surface energy.

 The green compact consists of many distinct particles, each with its own
individual surface, and so the total surface area contained in the
compact is very high.

 Under the influence of heat, the surface area is reduced through the
formation and growth of bonds between the particles, with associated
reduction in surface energy.
 Sintering sequence
 Sintering process occurs in a furnace and the heat treatment consist of
three stages

Figure: (a) Typical heat treatment cycle in sintering; and (b) schematic cross section
of a continuous sintering furnace.
 Sintering sequence
a. Pre-heat/Burn off/purge
 Combusts any air and removes lubricants or binders that would
interfere with good bonding.

 Rapid heating in this stage may entrap gases and produce high
internal pressure which may fracture the compact.
 Sintering sequence
b. Sinter/High temperature
 Desired solid-state diffusion and bonding occurs.
 Sintering involves mass transport to create the necks and transform them
into grain boundaries. The mechanism by which this occurs is diffusion.
c. Cool down
 Lowers the temperature of the products in a controlled atmosphere

Sintering on a microscopic scale: (1) particle bonding is initiated at contact points; (2)
contact points grow into “necks”; (3) the pores between particles are reduced in size;
and (4) grain boundaries develop between particles in place of the necked regions.
 Sintering sequence
 The above processes occur in a controlled atmosphere. The purposes of a
controlled atmosphere include:
 Protection from oxidation.
 Providing a reducing atmosphere to remove existing oxides.
 Providing a carburizing atmosphere.
 Assisting in removing lubricants and binders used in pressing.

 `Common sintering furnace atmospheres are:

 inert gas.
 nitrogen-based.
 dissociated ammonia.
 Hydrogen.
 natural gas.
 Vacuum
 Sintering sequence
Typical sintering temperatures and times for selected powder metals.

Metal Sintering Temperatue (oC) Typical Time (Min)

Brass 850 25

Bronze 820 15

Copper 850 25

Iron 1100 30

Stainless steel 1200 45

Tungsten 2300 480

 Secondary Operations
 Most powder metallurgy products are ready to use after the
sintering process

 Some products may use secondary operation to provide

enhanced precision, improved properties, or special
characteristics.

 Furthermore, distortion may occur during nonuniform cool down.

 Some of the secondary operations include:

 Densification/repressing: part is squeezed in a closed die to increase
density and improve physical properties.
 Sizing: pressing of sintered part to improve dimensional accuracy.
 Coining: press-working operation on sintered part to press details into
surface.
 Machining: to create geometric features that cannot be achieved by
pressing, such as internal and external threads, side holes e.t.c
 Impregnation
 Infiltration
 Heat treatment
 Impregnation
 Is the term used when oil or other fluid is permeated into the pores
of a sintered PM part.

 The most common products of this process are oil-impregnated

bearings and gears.

 The treatment is accomplished by immersing the sintered parts in a

bath of hot oil.

 Also used in PM parts that must be made pressure tight or

impervious to fluids. The parts are impregnated with various types
of polymer resins that seep into the pore spaces in liquid form and
then solidify.

 In some cases, resin impregnation is used to facilitate subsequent

processing, for example, to permit the use of processing solutions
(such as plating chemicals) that would otherwise soak into the
pores and degrade the product
 Infiltration
 Is an operation in which the pores of the PM part are filled with a
molten metal. These could be alloying elements that can
improve properties.

 The melting point of the filler metal must be below that of the PM
part.

 The process involves heating the filler metal in contact with the
sintered component so that capillary action draws the filler into
the pores.

 The resulting structure is relatively nonporous, and the infiltrated

part has a more uniform density, as well as improved toughness
and strength.

 An application of the process is copper infiltration of iron PM

parts.
 Heat Treatment and Finishing
 Powder metal components can be heat and finished by most of
the same processes used on parts produced by casting and other
metalworking processes.

 Special care must be exercised in heat treatment because of

porosity; salt baths are not used for heating PM parts.

 Plating and coating operations are applied to sintered parts for

appearance purposes and corrosion resistance.

 Precautions must be taken to avoid entrapment of chemical

solutions in the pores; impregnation and infiltration are frequently
used for this purpose.

 Common platings for PM parts include copper, nickel, chromium,

zinc, and cadmium.
 Alternative Pressing and Sintering Techniques

Isostatic Pressing

Hot Pressing

Spark Sintering

Powder injection molding (PIM)/Metal injection

molding (MIM)

Powder rolling, Extrusion and Forging

Liquid phase sintering

 Isostatic Pressing

 Pressure is applied from all directions against the powders that are
contained in a flexible mold; hydraulic pressure is used to achieve
compaction.

 Isostatic pressings tend to overcome the limitations of

conventional pressing (uniaxial application of pressure) which are:
 Limitation on part geometry because metallic powders do not readily
flow in directions perpendicular to the applied pressure.

 Density variations in the compact after pressing.

 Types of isostatic pressing:

 Cold Isostatic pressing (CIP)

 Hot isostactic Pressing (HIP)

 Isostatic Pressing
Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP)
 Pressing/compaction is performed at room temperature.

 The mold, made of rubber or other elastomer material, is oversized to

compensate for shrinkage.

 Water or oil is used to provide the hydrostatic pressure against the mold
inside the chamber.

 Advantages of CIP include:

 More uniform density.

 Less expensive tooling.

 Greater applicability to shorter production runs.

 However, good dimensional accuracy is difficult to achieve in isostatic

pressing, because of the flexible mold.
 Isostatic Pressing
Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP)

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.
 Isostatic Pressing
Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP)
 Carried out at high temperatures and pressures, using a gas such as argon
or helium as the compression medium.
 The mold in which the powders are contained is made of sheet metal to
withstand the high temperatures .
 HIP accomplishes pressing and sintering in one step.

 It is a relatively expensive process.

 PM parts made by HIP are characterized by:

 high density (porosity near zero).

 thorough interparticle bonding

 good mechanical strength.

 Its applications are concentrated in the aerospace industry

 Isostatic Pressing
Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP)

 Hip is generally used to:

 Densify existing parts.

 Heal internal porosity in casting.

 Seal internal cracks in a variety of products.

 Improve strength, toughness, fatigue resistance and creep life.

 Isostatic Pressing
Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP)
.

Figure: Schematic illustration of hot isostatic pressing. The pressure and temperature
variation versus time are shown in the diagram.
 Hot Pressing
 Just like Hot Isostatic Pressing, this process also accomplishes compaction
and sintering in one step.

 The setup in uniaxial hot pressing is very similar to conventional PM

pressing, except that heat is applied during compaction.

 The resulting product is generally dense, strong, hard, and dimensionally

accurate.

 Technical problems that limit adoption of this process include:

 Selecting a suitable mold material that can withstand the high

sintering temperatures.

 Longer production cycle required to accomplish sintering.

 Heating and maintaining atmospheric control in the process.

 Hot pressing has found some application in the production of sintered

carbide products using graphite molds.
 Spark Sintering
 This process also combines compaction and sintering in one step.

 Spark Sintering overcomes some of the problems in hot pressing.

 The process consists of two basic steps:

 Powder or a green compacted preform is placed in a die.

 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.

 The process has been applied to a variety of metals.

 Powder Injection Molding(PIM)/Metal
Injection Molding (MIM)

Figure: Metal injection molding

Figure: Flow chart of MIM process is ideal for producing small,
used to produce small, intricate complex parts.
shaped parts from metal powder.
 Powder Injection Molding(PIM)/Metal
Injection Molding (MIM)
 Ultra-fine spherical-shaped metal powders are combined with a
thermoplastic or wax.

 Becomes the feedstock for the injection process

 The material is heated to a paste like consistency and injected into

a heated mold cavity.

 After cooling and ejection, the binder material is removed.

 The part is processed to remove the binder and then sintered.

 Secondary operations are performed as appropriate.

 The binder provide proper flow characteristics during molding and

hold the powders in the molded shape until sintering.
 Powder Injection Molding(PIM)/Metal
Injection Molding (MIM)
 Basic types of binders in PIM include:

 Thermosetting polymers, such as phenolics.

 Thermoplastic polymers, such as polyethylene. (are frequently

used)

 Water.

 Gels.

 Inorganic materials.

 Powder injection molding is suited to part geometries similar to those

in plastic injection molding.

 PIM is most economical for small, complex parts of high value.

 Powder Rolling

Figure: Schematic illustration of powder rolling.

 Powder Rolling

Figure: Powder rolling: (1) powders are fed through compaction rolls to form
a green strip; (2) sintering; (3) cold rolling; and (4) re-sintering.
 Powder rolling
 Powders are compressed in a rolling mill operation to
form metal strip stock.
 The process is usually set up to run continuously or semi
continuously.
 The metallic powders are compacted between rolls
into a green strip that is fed directly into a sintering
furnace.
 It is then cold rolled and re-sintered.
 Spray deposition

Figure: Spray deposition (Osprey Process) in which molten metal is

sprayed over a rotating mandrel to produce seamless tubing and
pipe
 Properties of PM products
 The properties of P/M products depend on multiple
variables
 Type and size of powder
 Amount and type of lubricant
 Pressing pressure
 Sintering temperature and time
 Finishing treatments

 Mechanical properties are dependent on density.

 Products should be designed (and materials selected)
so that the final properties will be achieved with the
anticipated final porosity.
 Properties of PM products
Table: Comparison of properties of powder metallurgy material and equivalent wrought
metals. (note how porosity diminishes mechanical performance)
 Design considerations
Classes of P M Equipment
 The Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) defines four classes of
powder metallurgy part designs, by level of difficulty in conventional
pressing.
 The complexity of the part dictates the complexity of equipment
 Equipment has been grouped into four classes.
 Design considerations
Classes of P M Equipment
Class Description Press Figure
actions
Pressing direction
Class I Simple thin shapes that can Single
be pressed from one direction

Class II Simple but thicker shapes that Double Pressing direction

require pressing from two
directions.

Class III Two levels of thickness, Double Pressing direction

pressed from two directions.

Class IV Multiple levels of thickness, Double Pressing direction

pressed from two directions, or
with separate controls for Multiple
each level to achieve proper
densification throughout the
compact.
 Design considerations
 The geometry of the part must permit ejection from the die after pressing.
 Design features such as undercuts and holes on the part sides must be
avoided.

Figure: Part features to be avoided in PM:

(a)side holes
(b)side undercuts.
Part ejection is impossible.
 Design considerations
 Vertical under cuts and holes are permissible because they do not
interfere with ejection.
 Vertical holes can be of cross-sectional shapes other than round (e.g.,
squares, keyways) without significant increases in tooling or processing
difficulty.
 Screw threads cannot be fabricated by PM pressing; if required, they must
be machined into the PM component after sintering.

Permissible part features in PM: (a) vertical hole, blind and through, (b) vertical
stepped hole, and (c) undercut in vertical direction.
 Design considerations
 Chamfers and corner radii are possible by PM pressing.

 Problems are encountered in punch rigidity when angles are too acute.

Figure: (a) avoid acute chamfer angles (b) ) larger angles are preferred for punch
rigidity (c) small inside radius is desirable; (d) full outside corner radius is difficult
because punch is fragile at corner’s edge; (e) outside corner problem can be
solved by combining radius and chamfer.
 Design considerations
 Wall thickness should be a minimum of 1.5 mm between holes or a hole
and the outside part wall.
 Minimum recommended hole diameter is 1.5 mm.

Figure: Minimum recommended wall thickness (a) between holes or (b) between a
hole and an outside wall should be 1.5 mm.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!!