Dimensional and Geometrical Precision of Powder Metallurgy Parts Sintered and Sinterhardened at High Temperature

The effect of the sintering and sinter-hardening temperature on the dimensional and geometrical precision of ring-shaped parts was investigated. The parts were produced with a 3%Cr-0.5%Mo-0.5%C steel, compacted to 6.8 g/cm3 and sinter/sinter-hardened at 1250°C, 1300°C and 1350°C. The increase in the sintering temperature enhances the fraction of load bearing section and leads to an expected significant improvement of mechanical properties. Dimensional shrinkage increases with the sintering temperature, however, the dimensional and geometrical precision obtained in all the cases is very good even at very high sintering temperature. Dimensional variations are anisotropic, and the effect of anisotropy was estimated by evaluating the lack of precision attained when green parts are designed assuming an isotropic behavior. © 2013 Korean Society for Precision Engineering and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.