Sintering is a heat treatment process used to produce dense solid objects from powdered materials like metals, ceramics, or composites. Here are the key points about sintering:
What is Sintering?
- Sintering involves heating a compressed powder compact below its melting point, causing the particles to bond together and form a solid mass.
- It eliminates porosity and enhances strength by allowing diffusion between the particles, fusing them together without fully melting.
- The sintered part achieves near-theoretical density (close to 100%) and properties comparable to the bulk material.
Sintering Process
The main physical process of metal sintering:The porosity in the billet reaches 35~60%,Point contact or no contact between particles;
As the temperature rises, the particles become indirect Contact area increases → particles aggregate → particles The center is close;
Gradually forming grain boundary → pore deformation,Grain deformation → pore shrinkage, compact body Shrinkage, gas removal;
Connected pores → isolated closed pores,Until most of the gas is removed.
After sintered metal, the strength of sintered body increases, first of all, the bonding strength between particles increases, that is, the gravitational attraction between atoms on the bonding surface increases.
At high temperature, due to the increase of the amplitude of atomic vibration, diffusion occurs, and more atoms on the contact surface enter the range of atomic force to form a bonding surface.
The bonding surface expands and then forms the sintering neck, which makes the original grain interface form the grain interface and the grain boundary move to the inside of the grain, resulting in the grain growth.
Types of Sintering
- Solid-State Sintering: Bonding occurs in the solid state through diffusion processes.
- Liquid-Phase Sintering: A liquid phase is present which aids particle rearrangement and densification.
- Reactive Sintering: Chemical reactions occur between powder constituents to form new phases.
- Pressure-Assisted Sintering: External pressure is applied during heating to aid densification (e.g. hot isostatic pressing).
Advantages of powder sintering technology
- powder metal sintering not limited by shape and structure, it can maximize the rational design and layout of the mold runner system, and the surface of the runner is smooth and smooth, so that the product quality of the injection molding is higher, the molding time is shorter, and the production waste is less.
- The mold housing and the runner system are formed in one, without seams, and are durable. Compared with traditional mold manufacturing technology, the use of SLS metal powder sintering molding technology to manufacture molds can be significantly reduced by more than 70%, in today’s era of time is money, for manufacturers or manufacturers, rapid manufacturing technology has brought them significant benefits.
- The variety of metal materials used for sintering molding, excellent performance, can meet the mold quality needs of different production fields, such as injection molds, die casting molds, tensile molds, no copper penetration process.
Sintered metal is made with JH-MIM.
JH MIM specializes in the process of metal sintering. In order to get the metal powder to solidify, this technique entails heating it slightly below the melting point. With more than 20 years of experience, JH MIM’s staff can sinter a variety of metals, including titanium, nickel, stainless steel, and more. Additionally, we can use supplies that customers supply.
Sintering is a universal method that enables the production of parts in a variety of shapes and sizes. The method is excellent for mass manufacturing because it is also rather quick and effective. Sintering can also generate pieces with intricate internal features or complex geometries that are challenging to manufacture using other manufacturing processes.
If you want to know more about how metal sintering can make your parts work better. To explore your specific requirements and determine how we can assist you in advancing product development, contact our team now.