METAL POWDER

PROCESSING
TECHNIQUES
BY:
ENGR. SAJID HUSSAIN SIYAL

WE WILL DISCUSS:

Compacting / Pressing
Pressure Techniques
ISO-STATIC COMPACTION / PRESSING
DIE PRESSING / COMPACTION
HOT COMPACT ION/PRESSING
HIGH ENERGY RATE FORMING
CONTINUOUS COMPACTION
VIBRATORY COMPACTION

Pressureless Techniques
SLIP CASTING
GRAVITY COMPACTION
CONTINUOUS PRESSURELESS COMPACTION

COMPACTING /
PRESSING

The most important operation in powder metallurgy is compacting

or pressing
Most compacting is done cold, although there are some
applications for which compacts are hot pressed
The purpose of compacting is to consolidate the powders into a
desire shape and as closely as possible to final dimensions, to
achieve the required strength and structural properties. The
powders are compacted high pressure. The degree of pressure
required depends upon:
1. The required density of the final products.
2. The ease with which the powder particles will joined/
compact together.

PRESSURE TECHNIQUES

ISO-STATIC
COMPACTION /
PRESSING

In this process the powder is loaded into a flexible

(usually rubber) air tight container (called a bag), that
is inside a chamber of hydraulic fluid to which
pressure is applied. The force of the applied pressure
compact the powder uniformly in all directions
whiles the final product taking the shape of flexible
container. After cold iso-static pressing, the parts
must be fired (sintered) to achieve the required
properties & microstructure.This method is used to
manufacture the like park plug, carbide tools and
bearings.
It is possible to obtain a very uniform green density
and a high degree of uniformity in properties.

DIE COMPACTION

Die compaction:
Die compaction is the most widely used method. The usual sequence of
operation in die pressing is consists of to fill the die cavity through the
Hooper with a definite volume of powder.
Applications of the required pressure by movement of the upper and lower
punches toward each other and finally ejection of green compact by the
lower punch.
Pressure commonly employed range from 20 - 60 tons /sq in.
Pressure may be obtained by either mechanical or hydraulic presses.
Mechanical presses are available with pressure ratings of 10 to 150 tons and
speeds of 6 to 150 strokes/min.
Important features of mechanical presses are high speed production rate,
flexibility in design, simplicity (in design & operation) and economy in
operation, also relatively low investment & maintenance cost.
Hydraulic presses have higher pressure ratings up to 5000 tons but slower
stroke speeds generally less than 20 / min.

HOT COMPACTION /
PRESSING

This method consists in applying pressure and

temperature simultaneously. Molding and sintering
take place at the same time, which results in higher
densities and greater productions. The advantages of
hot pressing as compared with cold compacting and
sintering are a reduction in shrinkage effect, along
with higher strength, hardness, elongation and
density. Hot pressing is used only to a limited extent,
primarily for the production of very hard cementedcarbide parts. The principal disadvantage of this
method is the high cost of dies to stand up under
pressure at elevated temperatures.

HIGH ENERGY
RATE FORMING

These may be mechanical, pneumatic or

explosive or spark discharge methods applied
in a closed die. The advantage of these
methods is the short time and high pressures
that can be attained. It is also possible to use
low grade and very cheap powders and some
parts due to increased strength of the green
compacts may be used without subsequent
sintering. Disadvantages include high punch
and die wear, limited tolerances and high cost.

CONTINUOUS
COMPACTION

It is applied primarily for simple shapes such

as rod, sheet, tube and plate. Most of the
commercial techniques involve flowing
loose powder between a set of vertically
oriented rolls. The roll gap is adjusted to
give a compact of desired properties. In
general, the speed of powder rolling is much
less than that of conventional rolling
operations.

VIBRATORY
COMPACTION

In this method, pressure and vibration are

applied simultaneously to a mass of
powder in a rigid die. Compared with
ordinary die compaction, this method
allows the use of much lower pressures to
achieve a given level of densification.

PRESSURE LESS TECHNIQUES

SLIP CASTING

Slip casting is widely used for ceramics but only to a

limited extent for metals. The process consists of first
preparing a slip containing the powder suspended in a
liquid vehicle and additives to prevent particle
settling. The slip is then placed in a mold made of a
fluid absorbing material (such as Plaster of Paris) to
form the slip casting. After removal from the mold,
the slip casting is dried and sintered. This technique is
attractive for materials that are relatively
incompressible by conventional die compaction, but
the process does not lend itself to high production
rates because of the long time required for the liquid
to be removed through the porosity of the mold

GRAVITY
COMPACTION:

In this method, the die is filled with loose

powder which is then sintered in the die.
The die is usually made of an inert
material such as graphite. Since pressure
is not used, parts are generally more
porous. Commercially this method is used
for the production of P/M filters.

CONTINUOUS
PRESSURELESS
COMPACTION

This method is used to produce porous sheet

for
electrodes
in
nickel-cadmium
rechargeable batteries. The powder may be
applied in the form of a slurry (similar to the
slip in slip casting) to be coated on a metal
screen or solid metal sheet to produce unusual
composites. The green compact density is a
most useful property, since it is an indication
of the effectiveness of compaction and also
determines the behavior of the material
during subsequent sintering. Green density
seems to increase with increasing compaction
pressure, increasing particle size or apparent
density, decreasing hardness and strength of
particles and decreasing compaction speed.

Questions?

THE
END