Special Materials Provide Special Steel Solutions - Powder Metallurgical Production and Processing Routes

摘要

The success in various industrial branches, such as the mining, plastics processing and metal forming industries is primarily dependent upon the tools which are used during processing. The materials need to withstand the combined effects of wear, corrosion and mechanical loading over extended periods of time. Since no two applications are identical, the wish arises to be able to optimise the material properties to ensure the best possible performance in a specific application. One possibility to reach this goal is to use powder metallurgical techniques, since they offer the feasibility for a target oriented-design of the microstructure. This paper will more closely examine the production of these materials using mechanical alloying and gas atomisation techniques. Both are common powder metallurgical processes used for the production of high alloyed tool steel powders and metal matrix composites and are followed by sintering or hot isostatic pressing to produce high quality materials.