2018 EPMA PM Component Award Winners Announced

The European Powder Metallurgy Association has announced the winners for its prestigious annual PM Component Awards. The awards coincided with the Euro PM2018 Congress & Exhibition in Bilbao, Spain, October 14–18, 2018.

The 2018 award competition consisted of the following component categories:

• Additive Manufacturing
• Hot Isostatic Pressing
• Metal Injection Molding
• PM Structural (including Hard Materials and Diamond Tools parts)

PM Structural Component Award

This year’s PM Structural Component Award winner was Gevorkyan, s.r.o, Vlkanová, Slovakia, for a driving flange designed in cooperation with a leading power tools producer. According to its designers, the part is brand new and has never been produced using any other technology.

The part was initially conceived for CNC machining. By instead adopting PM technology for its production, Gevorkyan stated it was able to achieve a significant reduction in price in comparison to conventional manufacturing technologies. It was stated that the new design also reduces the time required to replace a worn disc from a minute to just a few seconds. View the award video.

Additive Manufacturing Award

The award for an additively manufactured component was made to Rosswag GmbH, Pfinztal, Germany, for its Forgebrid® component for power engineering. This component combines open die forging and Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (LB-PBF) production methods in a way which enables the circumvention of both processes’ potential disadvantages. View the award video.

Hot Isostatic Pressing Award

The award for a hot isostatically pressed component was given to Framatome & Aubert & Duval for their NNS Reactor Coolant Pump Impeller for the energy (nuclear power plant) sector. This reactor coolant pump impeller has a large dimension and complex geometry, which both posed significant production challenges. View the award video.

Metal Injection Molding Award

The award for a metal injection molded component was given to AMT PTE Ltd, Singapore, for its one piece nozzle for automotive applications. The MIM nozzle featured a good finish with complex internal channels in a sustainable and economical way. This product was said to have opened up an entirely new application for MIM process capability, and AMT stated that it was the most complex part that it has produced to date. View the award video.