Modern Developments In Powder Metallurgy

Five years ago, the worldwide powder metallurgy fraternity gathered in New York City to attend the first international conference devoted entirely to powder metal lurgy to take place in the United States. It was a tentative venture, entered into by the sponsors with no idea as to whether it would fail or succeed. The only assurances we had were that the metal-powder producing and consuming industries were rapidly expanding and that powder metallurgy was truly becoming one of the international sciences. The 1960 Conference was successful not only in terms of attendance and interest, but also in terms of knowledge gained. The literature had been enriched by the contributions of its participants to foster and encourage this type of world wide exchange. Thus, another such conference was held in 1965-expanded in scope and supplemented by an exhibition of the latest advances in raw materials, processing equipment, and finished products of powder metallurgy. On behalf of the Conference sponsors-the Metal Powder Industries Federa tion, the American Powder Metallurgy Institute, and the Metallurgical Society of AIME-I thank all those who participated and who helped make the 1965 Interna tional Powder Metallurgy Conference a rewarding experience and memorable event in our industry's history. Support of the National Science Foundation, which made it possible for several speakers from abroad to participate in the program, is gratefully acknowledged.

Of Volume 3.- Nuclear Applications.- Activated Sintering of Uranium Monocarbide.- The Use of Uranium Aluminide Powders in Nuclear Reactor Fuel Elements.- Powder Metallurgy of Al-Al2O3 Composites (SAP) for Nuclear Applications.- Hot-Pressing of Electrolytic Grade CR Beryllium.- An Experimental Study Concerning Some Effects Occurring During Skeleton Infiltration with Liquid Metals.- Cemented Carbide, Friction, Thermoelectric, Porous, and Heavy Metal Materials.- Cemented Titanium Carbide Cutting Tools.- Investigations of Some Hard Alloys in the Boron-Silicon-Carbon System.- The Elastic Modulus of.

Of Volume 2.- Ferrous Powder Metallurgy.- Some Aspects of the Sintering of Iron Powder.- The Mechanism of Sintering of?-Iron.- Alpha and Gamma Phase Sintering of Carbonyl and Other Iron Powders.- Investigation of the Activated Sintering of Iron Powder.- The Use of Byproduct Steel Powder from Ball-Bearing Production in Powder Metallurgy.- The Corrosion Resistance of Sintered Austenitic Stainless Steel.- Dispersion Strengthening.- Dispersion-Strengthened Nickel by Compaction and Rolling of Powder Produced by Pressure Hydrometallurgy.- On the Mechanisms of Plastic Deformation of SAP-Type Alloys.

Aluminum P/M parts can be production sintered in various types of furnaces and atmospheres. Selection of sintering furnace depends upon economic considerations and production rates desired. Batch furnaces have lowest investment costs and are adequate for low to medium production whereas continuous furnaces are more costly but provide higher production rates. strong, well-sintered P/M parts can be obtained in atmos pheres of nitrogen, dissociated ammonia and in vacuum. Atmos phere selection depends upon facilities available within individual plants plus property requirements. Highest strengths are produced in nitrogen followed by vacuum and dissociated ammonia. Repro ducible dimensions can be achieved with proper attention to com pact density, sintering temperature, dew point and atmosphere. REFERENCES 1. J. H. Dudas and W. A. Dean, "'llie Production of Precision Aluminum P/M Parts," International Journal of Powder Metallurgy, Vol. 5, April, 1969. 2. P. F. Mathews, "Effects of Processing Variables on the Properties of Sintered Aluminum Compacts,!! International Journal of Powder Metallurgy, Vol. 4, October, 1968. 3. J. H. Dudas and K. J. Brondyke, "Aluminum P/M Parts - Their Properties and Performance,!! Technical Paper No. 700141, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., Two Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, New York, 10001. 4. K. R. Van Horn (Editor), Aluminum Vol. I, pp. 26-28, American Society for Metals, Metals Park, Ohio, 1967.