Powder Metallurgy (PM) is a manufacturing technology that uses metallic powders as raw material. From this raw material a wide variety of new and exciting possibilities have become available through PM. Through PM we can make parts at a very low (competitive) price, with high dimensional accuracy, but with some loss in their properties, and conversely parts with superior properties, but less dimensional precision and a higher price can be made. That means that PM can supply materials to many different sectors, from those which produce large numbers of parts and the price is a key factor (like the automotive industry) to those where the price is a less important factor, where performance is the key issue (for example aerospace). In this lecture we will try to cover the PM process from the two points of view.

Powder Metallurgy (PM) is a solution provider for many industrial manufacturing sectors. It offers a wide range of process, material and geometry options to designers and engineers while also providing significant economic, performance and environmental advantages over other production routes. This presentation takes case studies of selected PM components and explains the benefits arising from using the PM manufacturing route as well as the added value for the customer for each component.