What is sintered metal used for?

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Metal sintering is the process of fusing metal powders to create a solid object and involves heat and pressure. The result is a metal object with a near-net shape, meaning it only requires minimal finishing work before being used.

Sintered metals can have many applications, depending on their composition and the way they are produced. In this article, we'll take a closer look at metal sintering, its process, its benefits, and some potential applications.

Powder Metal Sintering Process

The sintering process helps to bind the particles of metal powder together, creating a solid, dense piece.

The powder metal sintering process includes:

1. Choosing a powder composition:

   The metal powder type you use will determine the properties of the finished product, so selecting the right one for your needs is crucial.

2. Compaction:

   Once you've selected the right powder for your needs, the next step is to compact it into the desired shape. It is performed using a die press, which applies pressure to the powder to force it into the desired shape. The amount of pressure and the duration of pressing will vary depending on the powder type and the desired final product.

3. Sintering:

   After the powder is compacted into the desired shape, it is ready for sintering. Sintering is a process of heating the powder to just below its melting point, allowing the particles to bind and form a solid piece. The length of time and temperature at which the powder is heated will vary depending on the powder type and the desired final product.

Benefits of Metal Sintering

Metal sintering offers several advantages over other manufacturing processes. These include:

1. Complex shapes:

   Metal sintering allows for creating complex shapes that would be difficult or impossible to produce using other methods.

2. High dimensional precision:

   It offers high dimensional accuracy, meaning that the finished product will be very close to the desired shape.

3. Reliability and repeatability of large mass production:

   It is a very reliable process, and the finished products are consistent, making it ideal for large-scale production runs.

4. Self-lubrication:

   It can create parts with self-lubricating properties. The powder is compacted under high pressure, creating a dense, tight bond between the particles that helps reduce friction and wear, making self-lubrication possible.

5. Unique and isotropic materials:

   It is used to create unique isotropic materials. These materials have the same properties in all directions, making them ideal for applications where strength and durability are essential.

6. Green technology:

   It&#;s considered a green technology, as it doesn't produce any harmful emissions, making it ideal for companies looking to reduce their environmental impact.

7. Damping vibration:

   It can create parts with vibration damping properties. The powder is compacted under high pressure, creating a dense, tight bond that helps reduce vibrations and noise, making vibration damping possible.

Metal Sintering Applications

Metal sintering is a versatile process that improves the properties of many materials. In particular, sintering often enhances metals' strength, conductivity, and translucency. Its uses involve producing electrical components, semiconductors, and optical fibers.

Metal sintering is a popular choice for 3D printing applications, as it creates custom metal forms. Metal sintering works by melting metal powder one layer at a time, making it ideal for creating complex shapes and structures. Metal sintering also has high accuracy and repeatability, making it suitable for industrial and manufacturing applications.

This technique uses various metals, including aluminum, brass, bronze, and stainless steel. Sintering allows for greater control over the manufacturing process and can result in more consistent products. Additionally, sintering requires less energy than melting the same metal, making it a more environmentally-friendly option.

Sintering can also enhance the properties of various metals. For example, sintering minimizes the porosity of an object's surface. This can improve the strength and durability of the object.

The uses of metal sintering include the creation of:

• structural steel parts
• porous metals for filtering
• tungsten wiring
• self-lubricating bearings
• magnetic materials
• electrical contacts
• dental products
• medical products
• cutting tools.

Metal Sintering with Pacific Sintered Metals

Metal sintering is a process that Pacific Sintered Metals (PSM) specializes in. This process involves heating metal powder just below its melting point, allowing the particles to bond to form a solid mass. PSM has over 65 years of experience in sintering metals, and our team can sinter various metals, including stainless steel, titanium, nickel, and more. We are also able to work with customer-provided materials.

Sintering is a versatile process that creates parts of different shapes and sizes. The process is also relatively quick and efficient, making it ideal for large-scale production. Sintering can also create parts with complex geometries or internal features that would be difficult to produce using other manufacturing methods.

Want more information on Sintered Metal Fiber? Feel free to contact us.

If you&#;re interested in learning more about how metal sintering can improve your part performance. Our team would be happy to discuss your specific needs and see how we can help you take your product development to the next level.

When you start investigating how powdered metal parts are made, learning about sintered metal is essential. Many of the things we love most about powder metallurgy can be traced back to the sintering process.

What is sintered metal? Fortunately, while the fine details are quite complex, the basics are easy to understand. Keep reading to not only better understand sintered parts, but also how the powder metal process can create high-strength parts that are viable in many more applications than you realize.

What Is a Sintered Metal Part?

To make small metal parts, you&#;ve got to poke them, prod them, and (usually) put some heat to them. Metal is stubborn, and sintering helps make sure the powder behaves after your part is formed.

The sintering process in powder metallurgy (PM) involves heating a compacted powder to fuse the particles, which leads to a harder, stronger part. While the compaction process does a lot of the work, the physical pressure produced in the press isn&#;t enough to create a final, work-ready component. Sintering is what comes after -- the final major step to produce a powder metal part you can rely on.

Before & During the Powder Metal Sintering Process

To get a clearer idea of how sintering fits into PM, let&#;s start at the beginning of the powder metal process:

1. Choosing a Powder Composition

After talking with you about your performance requirements, your manufacturer will pick a powder composition that will yield the right results.

The powder mix will include the basic stuff you need, such as iron, nickel, molybdenum and or copper. It will also include other substances like lubricants to improve the flow of the powder into the die. Lubricants are removed by evaporation and heat as a leadup to sintering in a single-furnace process.

2. Compaction

After the powder is poured into the die, it&#;s pressed with a whole lot of force to interlock the powder. The pressure creates connections strong enough to be called &#;green strength.&#; A green part won&#;t exactly crumble in your hands, but it still needs to be finished by sintering to achieve optimal strength and hardness.

3. Sintering

Sintering is done by putting your parts through a rather toasty furnace. The goal is to control the temperature so it reaches just below the melting point of your parts&#; primary metal &#; but not quite. The sintering process causes the metal particles to bond together so you get a part that does what you need it to do.

Sintering Vs. Melting

It&#;s easy to assume they're very similar, but there are distinct differences between sintering and melting.

Melting actually gets the metal hot enough that it changes from solid to liquid. Sintering is different because the heating process is highly controlled. You get the enhanced properties you need without having to melt the metal. One of the great things about sintering is that you can easily make parts out of metals with high melting points.

Sintering can accomplish a lot when done right, including:

• Eliminating the lubricants in the compacted powder
• Reducing the amount of oxygen on the powder&#;s surface
• Developing sintered necks between the particles, reducing pores and increasing strength
• Partially or fully diffusing other elements in the mix, such as nickel, copper, and graphite 

The last two points are of key importance to the customer. These steps are what produce better properties for your part.

High-Temperature Sintering

Conventional sintering and high-temperature sintering are different shades of the same color.

In our eyes, for sintering to be considered high-temperature, it needs to happen at around 100-250 °F hotter (in the case of iron-heavy materials) than the standard sintering temp for a particular metal. For iron-heavy metals, the typical temperature is °F. High-temp sintering is more expensive than conventional sintering because you&#;re paying for extra &#;oomph&#; from the manufacturer&#;s equipment.

However, the extra cost can produce powdered metal material properties not available in any other way. One study showed that high-temp sintered parts improved in the following ways:

• Increases in tensile strength of 30%
• Bending fatigue strength increases of 15%
• Increases in impact energy of 50%

It&#;s only one study, but the results were impressive nonetheless and we&#;ve seen similar results in our building. There are a few potential drawbacks to consider, though:

• High-temperature sintering furnaces are much more expensive than conventional furnaces -- a cost that is passed on to the customer.
• Parts that are sintered at high temps can shrink more than expected -- your manufacturer needs to plan accordingly.

Other Advances in Powder Metallurgy

Today, a select few powder metallurgy suppliers are going beyond the temperatures normally considered to be high-temperature sintering. What we now call ultra-high-temperature sintering further improves the properties of sintered metal by ramping the heat up to - °F.

To learn more about sintering, or how your project could combine the net shaping ability of PM with the strengthening ability of sintering to improve part performance, ask an engineer below. Or, to keep learning on your own, check out the related resources underneath.

Related Resources

(Editor's note: This article was originally published in September and was recently updated.)

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