Trial and error sometimes produces answers for an experienced MIM operator faced with a problem in the mould. But modelling is increasingly being called into play to cut costs and save time before production starts. The author of this piece, Marco Thornagel from Sigma Engineering, explains how a mathematical model can fit in with the realities of production… 05 October 2010
The low weight, high performance characteristics of ceramic components means that ceramic injection moulding is an expanding business. A seven-country European research project has shown that technology can boost desirable traits in this powder technology… 05 October 2010
The hazards of combustible dust encompass a wide range of materials, industries, and processes – including metal powders. Any combustible material can burn rapidly when in a finely divided form. Now the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has given notice that it intends to develop a standard that will comprehensively address the fire and explosion hazards of combustible dust… 05 October 2010
With news that Höganäs has launched a new, light weight motor for electric bicycles, Metal Powder Report looks at the growth of the ‘e-bike’ market in China and the rest of the world and how the motor was designed to meet new requirements for lightweight, environmentally-friendly vehicle components. 05 October 2010
There is tangible evidence that the pains of the global recession are subsiding and that an economic recovery – albeit a tepid one – is well under way. But not everyone is feeling the rebound to the same degree. Reginald Tucker, editor, Metal Finishing magazine, recaps the highlights from PowderMet 2010 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where equipment manufacturers, parts makers, and powder suppliers alike convened to network, learn, and, of course, buy and sell. 01 October 2010
It’s been a busy year for the European Hard Metals Group. At an unprecedented second meeting in 12 months, held at EuroPM 2009 in Copenhagen, the group has decided to alter the frequency of its review sessions. Ken Brookes reports... 19 January 2010
Truck maker Scania can now satisfy the EU’s new exhaust directive in a different way to competitors thanks to SEM’s skills and Höganäs’ SMC powder... 19 January 2010
Producing metallic hollow spheres is complicated. Up to now it has not been possible to make the small sizes required for new high-tech applications. However, for the first time researchers at one of Germany’s premier research institutes have manufactured ground hollow metal spheres measuring between just two to 10 millimetres. 19 January 2010
Plenty of rhetoric was in the mix in the review of PM in North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific that was delivered in June at the Washington World Congress. Rob Stringer reports on three very different outlooks on the industry… 21 November 2009
Most manufacturing processes generate scrap, and even though powder metallurgy is notable for its low scrap production, these days scrap is a valuable commodity. A Tennessee companylooked for economic ways to recycle hardmetal scrap and found a machine that filled the bill, says Bob Seeley… 21 November 2009