Today’s story is an industry update coinciding with an excellent video resource describing conventional press and sintering with PM. Heat Treat TV seeks to provide helpful content on the latest trends in the industry and keep you current with what is happening between overlapping technologies. Read on to see how this great video relates to current trends.
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There has been a lot of talk in the industry about how sintering and powder metallurgy (PM) have been making headway in the world of heat treat. From how to use 3D printed green parts to understanding the step-by-step protocols of vacuum sintering, innovative heat treaters are envisioning new horizons at their fingertips, literally, by using the myriad of tools and skills at their disposal.
One of the most prominent figures, who is on the cutting edge of sintering, PM, and 3D printing in the North American market, is Harb Nayar, president and founder of TAT Technologies LLC. He spoke about some of the changes in these overlapping applications of 3D printing, sintering, PM, and additive manufacturing (AM). “Now, that ‘most probability low alloy steel,’ with even a lower amount of alloying, is going to be more conducive to faster quenching. In powder metallurgy – gas quenching is already used after sintering: they call it sinter hardening. In my opinion, heat treat will have to somehow modify its practices to deal with if the same forged product is really made from micro ingots as opposed to a macro ingot.”
This video highlights the questions of “what” and “how” of conventional press-and-sinter powder metallurgy. The creators of this excellent presentation are the Metal Powder Industries Federation’s Industry Development Board and John Engquist, FAPMI (past president of the Center for Powder Metallurgy Technology). Giving the very basics, they share that PM is just metal powder, molded by high pressure in a closed die, and that molded 3D green compacts are then sintered to produce parts in the various industries which service the automotive, recreation, agricultural, hydraulics, and other markets. Watch the video to see how this process breaks down, and what factors to consider (like size) when planning your PM use.
Additionally, this video is now available as the introduction video to Heat Treat Today’s Sintering & Powder Metallurgy page where even more new and technological articles and videos are available.
