Powder Metallurgy
Example Parts
Basic Steps In Powder Metallurgy
(P/M)
Powder Production
Blending or Mixing
Compaction
Sintering
Finishing
Powder Production
Atomization the most
common
Others
Chemical reduction of
oxides
Electrolytic deposition
Different shapes produced
Will affect compaction
process significantly
Blending or Mixing
Can use master alloys, (most commonly) or elemental
powders that are used to build up the alloys
Master alloys are with the normal alloy ingredients
Elemental or pre-alloyed metal powders are first
mixed with lubricants or other alloy additions to
produce a homogeneous mixture of ingredients
The initial mixing may be done by either the metal
powder producer or the P/M parts manufacturer
When the particles are blended:
Desire to produce a homogenous blend
Over-mixing will work-harden the particles and produce
variability in the sintering process
Compaction
Usually gravity filled
cavity at room
temperature
Pressed at 60-100 ksi
Produces a “Green”
compact
Size and shape of
finished part (almost)
Not as strong as finished
part – handling concern
Friction between
particles is a major
factor
Isostatic Pressing
• Because of friction between particles
• Apply pressure uniformly from all
directions (in theory)
• Wet bag (left)
• Dry bag (right)
Sintering
Parts are heated to ~80% of
melting temperature
Transforms compacted
mechanical bonds to much
stronger metal bonds
Many parts are done at this
stage. Some will require
additional processing
Sintering ctd
Final part properties
drastically affected
Fully sintered is not
always the goal
Ie. Self lubricated bushings
Dimensions of part are
affected
Die Design for P/M
Thin walls and projections create fragile tooling.
Holes in pressing direction can be round, square, D-
shaped, keyed, splined or any straight-through shape.
Draft is generally not required.
Generous radii and fillets are desirable to extend tool
life.
Chamfers, rather the radii, are necessary on part
edges to prevent burring.
Flats are necessary on chamfers to eliminate feather-
edges on tools, which break easily.
Advantages of P/M
Virtually unlimited choice of
alloys, composites, and
associated properties
Refractory materials are
popular by this process
Controlled porosity for self
lubrication or filtration uses
Can be very economical at
large run sizes (100,000
parts)
Long term reliability through
close control of dimensions
and physical properties
Wide latitude of shape and
design
Very good material
utilization
Disadvantages of P/M
Limited in size capability due to large forces
Specialty machines
Need to control the environment – corrosion concern
Will not typically produce part as strong as wrought product.
(Can repress items to overcome that)
Cost of die – typical to that of forging, except that design can be
more – specialty
Less well known process
Financial Considerations
Die design – must withstand
100 ksi, requiring specialty
designs
Can be very automated
1500 parts per hour not
uncommon for average size part
60,000 parts per hour
achievable for small, low
complexity parts in a rolling
press
Typical size part for
automation is 1” cube
Larger parts may require special
machines (larger surface area,
same pressure equals larger
UNIT V
Manufacturing of Plastic
Components
Extrusion
Raw materials in the form if thermoplastic
pallets,granules,or powder, placed into a hopper
and fed into extruder barrel.
The barrel is equipped with a screw that blends the
pallets and conveys them down the barrel
Heaters around the extruder’s barrels heats the
pellets and liquefies them
Screw has 3-sections
Feed section
Melt or transition section
Pumping section.
Complex shapes with constant cross-section
Solid rods, channels, tubing, pipe, window frames,
architectural components can be extruded due to
continuous supply and flow.
Plastic coated electrical wire, cable, and strips are
also extruded
Pellets :extruded product is a small-diameter rod
which is chopped into small pellets
Sheet and film extrusion :
Extruded parts are rolled on water and on the rollers
Extruder
Fig : Schematic illustration of a typical extruder for plastics, elastomers, and composite materials.
Injection molding
Fig : Injection molding with (a) plunger, (b) reciprocating rotating screw, (c) a typical part made from
an injection molding machine cavity, showing a number of parts made from one shot, note also
mold features such as sprues, runners and gates.
Similar to extrusion barrel is heated
Pellets or granules fed into heated cylinder
Melt is forced into a split-die chamber
Molten plastic pushed into mold cavity
Pressure ranges from 70 Mpa – 200 Mpa
Typical products : Cups, containers, housings, tool
handles, knobs, electrical and communication
components, toys etc.
Injection molding
Injection molds have
several components
such as runners,
cores, cavities, cooling
channels, inserts,
knock out pins and
ejectors
3-basic types of molds
Cold runner two plate
mold
Cold runner three
plate mold
Hot runner mold
Fig : Examples of injection molding
Injection Molding Machine
Fig : A 2.2-MN (250-ton) injection molding machine. The tonnage is the force applied
to keep the dies closed during injection of molten plastic into the mold cavities.
Process capabilities :
High production rates
Good dimensional control
Cycle time range 5 to 60 sec’s
Mold materials- tool steels, beryllium - Cu, Al
Mold life- 2 million cycles (steel molds)
10000 cycles ( Al molds)
Machines :
Horizontal or vertical machines
Clamping – hydraulic or electric
Blow molding
Modified extrusion and Injection Molding process.
A tube extruded then clamped to mold with cavity
larger than tube diameter.
Finally blown outward to fill the cavity
Pressure 350Kpa-700Kpa
Other Blow Molding processes
Injection Blow molding
Multi layer Blow molding
Fig : Schematic illustration of (a) the blow-molding process for making plastic beverage bottles, and (b) a three-station injection
blow-molding machine.
Rotational Molding
Thermo plastics are thermosets can be formed
into large parts by rotational molding
A thin walled metal mold is made of 2 pieces
Rotated abut two perpendicular axes
Pre-measured quantity of powdered plastic
material is rotated about 2-axes
Typical parts produced-Trash cans, boat hulls,
buckets, housings, toys, carrying cases and
foot balls.
Rotational
Molding
Fig: The rotational molding
(rotomolding or
rotocasting) process.
Trash cans, buckets, and
plastic footballs can be
made by this process.
Thermoforming
Series process for forming thermoplastic sheet or film over a mold by
applying heat and pressure.
Typical parts : advertising signs, refrigerator liner, packaging ,
appliance housing, and panels for shower stalls .
Fig : Various Thermoforming processes for thermoplastic sheet. These processes are
commonly used in making advertising signs, cookie and candy trays, panels for
shower stalls, and packaging.
Compression molding
Pre-shaped charge ,pre-measured volume of powder and viscous mixture
of liquid resin and filler material is placed directly into a heated mold
cavity.
Compression mold results in a flash formation which is a n excess material.
Typical parts made are dishes, handles, container caps fittings, electrical
and electronic components and housings
Materials used in compression molding are thermosetting plastics &
elastomers
Curing times range from 0.5 to 5 mins
3- types of compression molds are
Flash type
Positive type
Semi-positive
Compressio
n Molding
Fig : Types of compression
molding, a process
similar to forging; (a)
positive, (b) semi
positive, (c) flash (d) Die
design for making
compression-molded
part with undercuts.
Transfer molding
Transfer molding is an improvement if
compression molding
Uncured thermosetting material placed in a heated
transfer pot or chamber, which is injected into
heated closed molds
Ram plunger or rotating screw feeder forces
material into mold cavity through narrow channels
This flow generates heat and resin is molten as it
enters the mold
Typical parts : Electrical & electronic components,
rubber and silicone parts
Transfer molding
Fig : Sequence of operations in transfer molding for thermosetting plastics. This
process is particularly suitable for intricate parts with varying wall thickness.
Casting
Conventional casting of thermo
plastics :
Mixture of monomer, catalyst and
various additives are heated and
poured into the mould
The desired part is formed after
polymerization takes place.
Centrifugal casting : Fig : Casting
Centrifugal force used to stack the
material onto the mold
Reinforced plastics with short fibers
are used
Cold forming
Processes such as rolling ,deep drawing extrusion closed die forging ,coining
and rubber forming can be used for thermoplastics at room temperatures
Typical materials used : Poly propylene, poly carbonate, Abs, and rigid PVC
Considerations :
Sufficiently ductile material at room temperature
Non recoverable material deformation
Solid Phase forming
• Temperatures from 10oc to 20oc are maintained, which is below melting point
Advantages :
• Spring-back is lower
• Dimensional accuracy can be maintained
Calendaring and Examples of Reinforced Plastics
Fig : Schematic illustration of calendaring,
Sheets produced by this process are
subsequently used in thermoforming.
Fig : Reinforced-plastic components for a Honda
motorcycle. The parts shown are front and
rear forks, a rear swing arm, a wheel, and
brake disks.
Sheet Molding
Fig : The manufacturing process for producing reinforced-plastic sheets. The
sheet is still viscous at this stage; it can later be shaped into various products.
Examples of Molding processes
Fig : (a) Vacuum-bag forming.
(b) Pressure-bag
forming.
Fig : Manual methods of
processing reinforced
plastics: (a) hand lay-
up and (b) spray-up.
These methods are
also called open-mold
processing.
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