The goal of this project was to achieve adhesion between powder metal and wrought metal with minimal warpage of the materials.
Sponsored by: MetalTech
Team Members
Tyler Woolsey Julia Callis Stephanie Kraft Adam Potoczak Siti Mohd Amran Jonpatrick Downes
Instructor: Robert Allen Kimel
Project Poster
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Project Video
Project Summary
Overview
This project was sponsored by MetalTech, a powder metals manufacturer. The team performed sinter-bonding experiments on various Fe powder metals and Fe wrought metal trays to determine the best methods for adhering powder metals to wrought metal. Parameters such as maximum sintering temperature, furnace ramp rate, cooling rate, and sintering hold time were analyzed. The team determined that pre-heating the metals, roughing the surface of the tray, and using powder metal with fine particle size resulted in the best adhesion.
Objectives
– Adhere loose and compacted Fe powder to a wrought Fe tray
– Prevent oxidation during the sinter-bonding process
– Translate the sinter-bonding process from an industrial belt furnace to a laboratory-scale box furnace
– Achieve minimal warpage of the tray and powder during the experiments
Approach
– Determined that both metal powder and wrought metal were Fe and had similar thermomechanical properties that were ideal for sinter-bonding
– Performed incremental experiments altering parameters such as maximum sintering temperature, furnace ramp rate, cooling rate, and sintering hold time based on observations and analysis of previous experiments
– Communicated findings and experimental results with MetalTech to refine the project approach
Outcomes
– Best adhesion achieved by pre-heating both metals before sintering, surface roughening the metal tray, and using fine (loose) metal powder
– All samples had oxidation and cracking present — due to Fe’s high affinity for O at high temperatures
– Suggestions for future experiments include using a stronger atmosphere to prevent oxidation, using sheet metal with a composition closer to pure Fe, and using compression on metal compacts to help with adhesion