Porosity has the greatest single effect on the response of PM Steels to heat treatment compared with conventional steels. The majority of parts have a porosity between 5 and 15 vol%, far more than is found in a typical casting. Every mechanism in press and sinter is subject to diminishing returns; i.e., compact density has a decreasing dependence on compaction pressure, as does sintering and homogenization.

During sintering, metallurgical bonds form between powder particles. Strength, ductility, toughness, and electrical and thermal conductivities increase with increasing density. If different materials were blended together, interdiffusion could promote the formation of alloys and intermetallic phases. As a consequence of the density increases, size decreases.

Solar Atmospheres, Greenville, S.C., has been awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne approval, their second aerospace prime approval of 2021.

Lindberg/MPH, Mich., announced the shipment of an electrically heated spray washer to the defense industry. This spray washer is designed as a companion to a heat-treating process, washing the parts prior to and/or after heat treating.

Seco/Warwick, Poland, has introduced a new gas nitriding technology called ZeroFlow to the global industry in cooperation with scientists from the Poznan University of Technology. ZeroFlow reduces process costs while providing more ecologically friendly performance.

NanoAL LLC, Boston, has signed a commercial license agreement with Mitsubishi Corp. RtM Japan Ltd. to bring its Addalloy family of advanced aluminum alloy powders to the metal additive manufacturing market in Asia.

Ferrous alloys are often produced by mixing graphite with iron powder to form a steel or stainless steel. This allows for using lower pressures during compaction of the softer iron powder, which does not contain carbon.

Super Systems, Cincinnati, has completed a controls upgrade for Elmira Heat Treating. The scope of the project included a new 9220 control system for a vacuum furnace. The 9220 is a robust vacuum furnace recipe-based controller which is the command center for control, I/O, and redundant data logging for the processes performed on the equipment.