Powder Metallurgy Forum at CERAMITEC 2012

Cost-effective, functional and flexible, PM parts have made great strides in recent decades in the automotive industry, aerospace, engineering, medical technology and the electronics industry. Almost four-fifths of all powder-metallurgy products are used in vehicle manufacture. An average European car contains around 8,4 kg of sintered parts. In comparison, in Japan PM parts account for approximately 8 kg of the total weight, but in the US, 19 kg. Other applications for PM parts are found in steel and ferrous sintered parts, oil-impregnated sintered bearings, filters, friction materials, complex injection molding (MIM) – where annual growth rates are in double-digit percentages. Also in sintered hard metals for cutting tools and wearing parts – including ones with additional hard coatings (e.g. diamond) – in high-speed steels, heavy metals, super alloys and in rare earth magnets based on, for example, neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B). Without magnet groups with very high energy densities, many innovative applications would simply not be possible, for example, the manufacture of micromotors with a tiny diameter of <2 mm. When using PM products high performance is a prime criterion, but also importantly cost-efficiency. Experience with many components has shown that in manufacturing powder-metallurgy processes can bring cost-savings of up to 70 % and more as compared to the workpieces produced conventionally by machining. In some special cases, for example in the production of hard metal, there is no other technology that can be used than powder metallurgy. Following the economic crisis of 2009 global demand for powder metallurgy products rose again rapidly. In 2010 global annual output of the PM products (excluding ceramics) listed here was already more or less back to the same level as before the crisis, at around EUR 30 billion. Hard metals account for the major portion of this, at approximately EUR 13 billion. Worldwide production of ferrous PM parts is now worth over EUR 6,5 billion (Source: IPMA), of which around 23 % is accounted for in Europe. Business in metal injection molding (MIM) has also expanded continuously over recent years. Global turnover in MIM is put at EUR 650 million for 2010 (Source: PIM International). Information on the current status of powder metallurgy and on the outlook for the future of new technologies in this segment of industry is being offered by Germany’s Fachverband Pulvermetallurgie (FPM, Powder Metallurgy Trade Association) at CERAMITEC 2012. There in Hall A 5 the association is organizing a powder metallurgy forum entitled “PM today and tomorrow”. It takes place on 22 May 2012, and is being chaired by Prof. em. Dr.-Ing. Paul Beiss and organized by Hans Kolaska of FPM. Experts from research and industry will be giving short lectures, each of around 15 min in duration, addressing topical issues in PM production, and setting out the opportunities for the future of key techniques in powder metallurgy. An open discussion with the audience is then planned following each lecture. Also presented will be modern techniques such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of PM parts, inert gas ovens, microwave debinding of hard metals, rapid sintering of large-area components, PVC and CVD coatings on hard metals, and MIM technology. The event begins at 13:30. Lectures are given in German and simultaneous interpreting into English will be provided. Entry to the event is free of charge to participants in CERAMITEC. Further information is available at: www.ceramitec.de (11/2011).

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