CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF PARTICULATE
MATERIAL PROCESSING
• Traditionally, most manufacturing processes
involve casting and or forming of engineering
materials (metals, ceramics, polymers,
composites etc)
• Casting is most common manufacturing
method which involves pouring of liquid
material is poured into a die cavity of desired
shape and held there to solidify
• Time the hot metal is allowed time to solidify
and the time depends on the size and shape of
product.b
• product is then finished by machining or polishing
to required size.
• While casting and forming processes (e.g. rolling,
drawing, forging etc) offer various advantages
related to lower costs, they have got their own
limitations
in the manufacturing of refractory materials
porous products
• particulate technology becomes handy
1.1 Definitions
• Particle technology: the art of the handling and
processing of particles into useful products.
• Particles can be bulk solids, particulate solids
and granular solids; liquid drops (emulsions)
and gas bubbles.
• In particle technology for manufacturing
purposes we are mainly concerned with solid
particles that are used to manufacture metal
and ceramic products
• Powdered materials are important in various
industries such as;
Consolidated via compacting and sintering to give
finished part or billet for further machining
Used in paints vanishes, printing inks, welding
electrodes etc
Reagents in the chemical industry
Explosives in military and mining applications
• In this module we will only be concerned with
the purpose highlighted in number 1
• For metals and ceramics, the technology of
producing products from powdered material is
normally referred to as Powder Metallurgy (PM)
• After manufacturing, the powders are then
consolidation into useful products.
• Consolidation is achieved through compacting
and heating.
• Sintering is the term used in PM for heating to
consolidate: is performed at a temperature
below melting point of the major constituents.
• The size range of “particles” ranges from 10-9 to
10-1m
• In this module we are concerned with particles
in the range 0.1 to 200µm
1.2 Why Particulate Material Processing?
• Some components may not be made (efficiently) by
any other methods e.g. fabrications with heavy
refractory metals; W, Mo, Os; Ta or ceramic materials,
WC, Si3N4 etc that have got very high melting points,
• For porous products (e.g. self-lubricating bearings)
and magnetic cores
• Engineering components that compete with those
made by conventional casting, working and
machining e.g. where large quantities of small parts
(e.g gears) are required PM has the following
advantages;
Machining eliminated or reduced (yield 95% or
higher) (Near-net)
Scrap losses eliminated or reduced
Close dimensional tolerances maintained
Good surface finish
Almost any combination of metals (or non-
metals) can be achieved
High volume production possible
• It may be difficult to produce a component by
any other means
• It ensures adequate mechanical properties by
elimination voids, inclusions etc in the product
1.3 Typical PM products
• Fabrication of implements from high melting
point metals
• Wear resistant parts
• Porous materials
• Products with special frictional, magnetic and
electrical properties
1.3.1 statistics
• At present, nearly 70% of PM parts are used in
the automotive industry (e.g., in bearing caps,
connecting rods, etc.).
• The current world-wide PM market is roughly
constituted by 25% ceramics, 60% metals, and
15% carbides (cutting tools, drill bits, etc.)
1.4 Limitations of PM
• Relatively high tooling cost,
• high cost of powders
• porosity variation within a part,
• and limitations on part design (part must be
ejectable from the die after compaction).