MPIF recently held its biennial Powder Metallurgy Sintering Seminar in State College, PA where over 60 attendees were provided the latest in the sintering theory and practices of PM products and sintering furnaces. Presentations included advanced topics including metallographic analysis, safe operation of furnaces and atmospheres, sintering of conventional PM, MIM and metal AM materials.  Other important topics included furnace maintenance, troubleshooting, CQI-9 reviews, and furnace belt specifications.   

New MIT heat treatment for extreme conditions. (Courtesy Dominic David Peachey)

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Illinois, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a metal additive manufactured heat treatment to make the materials stronger and more resilient in extreme thermal environments.

The Center for Powder Metallurgy Technology (CPMT) recently visited Munro & Associates, specialists working in aerospace, automotive, defense, marine, medical devices, and heavy industrial machinery. During the full-day event, CPMT members were provided the latest lean design approach for electric vehicles (EV), viewing 7 different disassembled EVs to study innovations and possible opportunities for powder metallurgy.

Elmet Technologies, Lewiston, Maine, a manufacturer of tungsten and molybdenum components for the aerospace industry, recently supplied parts for use in the Space Launch System (SLS) Rocket program, in the Orion Space Capsule. The SLS is the largest, most powerful rocket built to date. The first SLS mission (Artemis I) for the Artemis Program was launched Wednesday morning. It will travel to the moon and return.

Alex T. Gasbarre, CEO, Gasbarre Products, Inc., DuBois, Pennsylvania, has been elected President of the Powder Metallurgy Equipment Association (PMEA). PMEA is one of six trade associations under the Metal Powder Industries Federation, a "not-for-profit association" formed by the powder metallurgy industry to advance the interests of the metal powder producing and consuming industries.

Planetary carrier for 4WD, courtesy of JPMA.

In 1979, the Japan Powder Metallurgy Association (JPMA) started awarding innovative PM parts (new design/new materials/process development); powders; and equipment with the intent to broaden the Powder metallurgy technology.

University of Sheffield’s STAR group has converted Al alloy powders from atomization to sheet material in two solid-state steps for use in aerospace. (Courtesy STAR Group)

The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, STAR (Sheffield Titanium Alloy Research) group and partner ECKART GmbH, Schluechtern, Germany, are convert oversize metal additive manufacturing (AM) aluminum alloy powders into sheet material for use in aerospace applications. The collaboration combines field assisted sintering technology (FAST) with hot rolling to convert coarse aluminum alloy powders from atomization into sheet material in two solid-state steps.

MPIF President Rodney Brennen, Metco Industries, Inc., provides the State of the North American PM Industry report at the WorldPM2022 Congress.

After 4 long years, the global PM community was able to meet at the WorldPM2022 Congress in Lyon, France. Organized by the European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA), the World Congress attracted over 1,000 professionals from 56 countries. Delegates were pleased to have their first face-to-face World Congress since WorldPM2018 in Beijing. The MPIF WorldPM2020 was cancelled dues to the COVID-19 pandemic. WorldPM2024, October 14-17, 2024, in Yokohama, Japan, will be organized by the Asian Powder Metallurgy Association (APMA) and Japan Powder Metallurgy Association (JPMA).

Headlines:

Hoeganaes Expands R & D Muscle 
Greenback Strengthens P/M Commitment 
Pyron Sales Dip
Name Change for Glidden Metals
New High Strength RST Alloy
Microprocessor Balances Aid Weighing
Alcan Closes Secondary Casting Alloy Production
ASEA Offers HIP Unit for Laboratory and Pilot Plant Production
Moly Wound Furnaces for High Temperature Applications
P/M Magnetic Materials Short Course
World Congress on Hard Metals
Metal Matrix Composites Conference
MPIF Associations Elect New Presidents
APMI Membership Drive
October Journal Sheds Light on International Developments
MPIF Issues Membership List
P/M '84 Program Committee Selected
Technical Board Considers Literature Service
MPIF/APMI To Computerize
People in the News
Dates to Remember
 

A microscopic image of 3D-printed 17-4 stainless steel. The colors in the left-side version of the image represent the differing orientations of crystals within the alloy. 

For airliners, cargo ships, nuclear power plants and other critical technologies, strength and durability are essential. Therefore, many contain a remarkably strong and corrosion-resistant alloy called 17-4 precipitation hardening (PH) stainless steel. A team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Argonne National Laboratory has identified particular 17-4 steel compositions that, when printed, match the properties of the conventionally manufactured version. The researchers’ strategy is based on high-speed data about the printing process they obtained using high-energy X-rays from a particle accelerator. 

The 2022 Metal AM Outstanding Technical Paper Award has been selected, and this year's winning paper is "Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of FSLA Steel Produced by the Binder Jet Process” by Chris Schade, Tom Murphy, and Kerri Horvay, Hoeganaes Corporation. The paper was selected from among the highly qualified manuscripts that were presented at the AMPM2022 conference in Portland and critically evaluated for the prestigious award.

LIFT, the Detroit, Michigan-based Department of Defense manufacturing innovation institute, along with the Department of Defense (DOD), have launched two projects led by Boeing as part of the ongoing Hypersonics Challenge led by the institute, focusing on powder metallurgy refractory metal matrix composites and in-situ monitoring development for hypersonic systems.

Headlines:

Fire and Market Conditions Force Closing of Domtar Ridgway Plant 
Alcoa Buys APM From Barden
NCR Forms New Division -Seeks Outside Work
Monroe Expands P/M In-Plant Manufacturing
Valley Met Closes Essex Plant
Particulate Materials Patent Granted
Allis Tool Acquires Sonic Sifter Business from AlIen-Bradley
Patent Awarded for Carbide Material with Special High-Temperature Properties
Sintering Time Available
MPIF/APMI Officials Meet
APMI Launches Incentive Membership Campaign
New Employment Service for APMl'ers
P/M ’73 Exhibition
Canadian P/M '73 Sub-Committee Appointments
MPIF Fall Management Conference Program
P/M Journal Offers Special Advertising Opportunities
SME Powder Compacting Conference On November 14-15
People in the News
APMI Section News
P/M Part-of-the-Month

The 2022 Howard I. Sanderow Outstanding Technical Paper Award has been selected, and this year's winning paper is "Joining of Two-Piece Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite (Al-MMC) Transmission Carrier via Friction Stir Welding” by Logan Smith and Ian Donaldson, GKN Sinter Metals. The paper was selected from among the highly qualified manuscripts that were presented at the PowderMet2022 conference in Portland and critically evaluated for the prestigious award.