Powdered Metal

Powdered Metal

Powdered metal is used to make solid parts from metal powder. Metal can be made into powder form using a variety of techniques, including atomization, chemical precipitation, centrifugal disintegration, and hydrogen reduction. Atomization, by far the most common of these methods, separates molten, liquid metal into small beads that are frozen into a solid form.

Powder metal is created through a manufacturing process known as powder metallurgy, which has three different stages of production. First, the metal material is reduced to individual particles, or powder form. The powdered metal is then pressed into a die. Afterwards, pressure and heat are applied to the metal during the sintering process, where the product is heated in a furnace to a temperature just below the metal's melting point.

Producing powdered metal parts results in very little waste. In fact, approximately 97% of materials used during the process end up in the parts. Powdered metal can be made from a variety of metals, including iron, aluminum, nickel, copper, and brass.