SINTERED STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

The capital goods industry is a major consumer of sintered parts. Since the profitability of buying sintered parts increases with the annual output, it is easy to understand that the largest consumers are the automotive, electrical appliances and handtool industries and other high-volume industrial segments.

A wide range of iron-based materials, shapes, finishes, treatments and coatings can be used to obtain parts with high accuracy and performance. Their mechanical properties are comparable to those of wrought structural steels or alloy cast iron, with tensile strength greater than 1,300 MPa being achievable.

The main market for sintered components is the automotive industry, which uses powder metallurgy to make an extremely diverse range of structural parts for engines, transmissions, clutches, transfer cases,exhaust, EGR, starters, brakes, steering columns and racks, shock absorbers, comfort and safety systems (rear-view mirrors, sunroofs, HVAC, etc.) and pumps (oil, fuel, water, power steering, servobrake, selective catalytic reduction [SCR], variable valve timing [VVT], continuously variable transmission [CVT], etc.). Other typical markets of sintered components are handtools, household appliances, industrial pumps, home fittings, industrial machinery and weapons.