MTE 449 Powder Metallurgy

Chapter 1
Introduction

Nagy El-Kaddah
 MTE 449 Powder Metallurgy
¾ Subject Matter
¾ Powder metallurgy (PM) is the art and science of manufacturing
intricate shaped objects from powders
¾ It encompass all manufacturing steps to produce the final product
¾ Powder production
¾ Blending
¾ Shaping and compaction
¾ Sintering
¾ This course covers all these aspects of this manufacturing process
with emphasis on structure-processing-properties relationships.
¾ Objectives
¾ To learn the technology
¾ To gain insight into scientific principles underplaying design and
operation of PM processes
¾ To be able to select and design the optimal processing route for any
given product properties.
 Powder Metallurgy Technology

¾ General Classification
¾ Powder Technology
¾ Powder Processing

¾ Powder technology
¾ It involves all processing operations to prepare the particles in the 100 μm
range for subsequent shaping and consolidation processes.
¾ Powder fabrication
¾ Mechanical
¾ Atomization
¾ Electrolysis
¾ Chemical synthesis
¾ Particle classification
¾ Particle handling, modification and mixing
¾ Particle characterization and microstructure control are essential
components of powder technology
 Powder Metallurgy Technology (cont.)

¾ Powder Processing
¾ It involves all operations to
consolidate the particles to
the final product
¾ Shaping and compaction
¾ Sintering
¾ Densification
¾ Finishing operations
¾ Machining
¾ Heat treatment
¾ Joining
¾ Coating
¾ Selection of processing
methods depends on desired
properties of final product.
Powder Metallurgy Process Flowchart
 Why Powder metallurgy?
It the only near net-shape manufacturing technology capable of
fabricating parts for all types of materials
¾ Metals and intermetallics
¾ Ceramics
¾ Engineered materials: Composites and porous materials

¾ Advantages
¾ Achieves a wide variety of alloy systems
¾ Facilitates manufacture of complex or unique shapes which would be
impractical or impossible with other metalworking processes
¾ Maintains close dimensional tolerances
¾ Produces good surface finishes and eliminates or minimizes machining
¾ Provides controlled porosity for self-lubrication or filtration applications
¾ Suited to moderate-to-high volume component productions requirements
 Applications

Powder metallurgy is used in various industrial sectors:

¾ Automobile industry (motors, gear assemblies, brake pads)
¾ Abrasives (polishing and grinding wheels)
¾ Manufacturing (cutting and drilling tools)
¾ Electric and magnetic devices (magnets, soft magnetic
cores)
¾ Medical and dental (implants, prostheses, amalgams)
¾ Aerospace (motors, heat shields, structural parts)
¾ Welding (solder, electrodes)
¾ Energy (electrodes, fuel cells)
¾ Other (porous filters, sporting goods)
 Example Applications
¾ Automotive

Helical transmission gears

¾ Biomedical components
Endoscopic Surgical Tool

Needle-Biopsy-Gun components