ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES OF POWDER METALLURGY

POWDER METALLURGY PROVIDES A HIGH PRODUCTIVITY TECHNIQUE FOR FORMING NET SHAPE COMPACTS FROM SEVERAL MATERIALS. THE CONVERSION OF METAL POWDERS INTO USEFUL AND OFTEN UNIQUE ENGINEERING COMPONENTS IS RECEIVING WIDESPREAD NOTICE. THE REASONS FOR SELECTING POWDER METALLURGY ARE DESCRIBED IN THIS PAPER. THE PROCESSING LOGIC IS OUTLINED, AND EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS POWDER CHARACTERISTICS ON BOTH THE PROCESSING AND PROPERTIES. METAL POWDERS REPRESENT THE STARTING POINT OF THE PROCESS; HENCE, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THIS TECHNOLOGY BEGINS WITH THE METAL POWDER. Author: Robert M. German (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)