Everything You Need to Know About Powdered Metal Structural Parts

January 28, 2021

Manufacturers can get their metal products out of various sources. One of these sources is metal powders. And to convert metal powders into useful metal parts and products, they often undergo powder metallurgy processes as they can effectively reduce yield losses in manufacture. Powder metallurgy processes can also make sure that the manufacturing costs will be reduced significantly.

Powdered metal structural parts are one of the products created out of powder metallurgy processes. These parts have been maximised by different industrial applications as they boast features that cannot be obtained with other types of metal parts and products.

Creation of Powdered Metal Structural Parts

Usually, powdered metal structural parts are often created out of three primary steps: powder formulation, forming, and sintering. Other operations that may be added according to specific requirements mostly include machining, deburring, sizing, or heat treatment.

The first step in creating powdered metal structural parts is powder formulation. During this step, manufacturers would take raw metal materials and subsequently convert them into powder form through atomisation, mechanical alloying, electrolytic techniques, chemical reduction, and pulverisation. The powder metals are then mixed with a lubricant. This particular combination can help reduce the friction between the powder metals and the pressing dies.

The next two steps are vital in making the final powdered metal parts. During forming, the powder metals undergo moulding, forging, or pressing that would prepare them for sintering. The sintering, on the other hand, melts the compacted powder metals in a furnace. The melting process allows the powder metals’ particles to bond together while retaining the intended shape of the part.

Benefits of Powdered Metal Structural Parts

The use of powder metallurgy in creating metal structural parts boasts numerous benefits to industries. For one, it offers lower tool costs compared to other metal forming processes as the process tends to minimise the general machining of parts and products. Powder metallurgy likewise reduces scrap losses as it can use more than 97% of the starting raw materials in the finished product. Additionally, this specific process can generate parts and products with good surface finish, complex or unique shapes, controlled porosity, increased strength, and much more reliable wear resistance. Powdered metal structural parts that are generated by powder metallurgy are likewise expected to offer long-term performance reliability.

Powdered Metal Structural Parts Applications

Given the features of powdered metal structural parts, different industries would utilise them in producing different types of products. Some parts of appliances such as control levers, hinges, and bearings are mostly made from powdered metal structural parts. These same parts can also be used for electric motors, especially for their gears, bearings, and motor cores. The automotive industry likewise utilises powdered metal structural parts in creating cams, gears, inserts, pistons, and valves. All these industries can truly enjoy all the benefits and features that can be found on powdered metal structural parts.

To obtain great powdered metal structural parts, feel free to give us a call at PM Distributors.

 

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