Powder metal structural components
The capital goods industry is a major consumer of powder metal components. Since the profitability of buying PM 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.
As a reference, each car uses about between 10 and 15 Kg of powder metal parts. If an average part weighs 20 grams, this means that each car contains about 600 powder metal components, some of which are considered Critical or Safety powder metal components.
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.
Powder metallurgy is used to make a great number of mechanical and hydraulic structural components. The main market for powder metal 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 powder metal components are handtools, household appliances, industrial pumps, home fittings, industrial machinery and weapons.
Some of the applications of powder metal structural components are:
Sprockets, pulleys, clamps, bearing caps, sensors, couplings.
Cams, pulleys, pinions, sensors, spacers, regulation forks, tensioners, rocker arms. The SurfaDens® process creates toothed gears with maximum surface density.
Rotors, stators, pulleys, plates, couplings, spacers.
Levers, forks, gears, plates, rings and rotors for CVT systems, stoppers. For large components, the Press-Hardening heat treatment allows very hard steels to be formed with minimal dimensional distortion. The SurfaDens® process creates toothed gears with maximum surface density.
Pulleys, sprockets, hubs, carriers, couplings, cams, levers, pump plates and gerotors.
Rotors, plates, couplings and shoes for servo brake pumps, racks, regulation gears, hubs, ABS sensors.
Rotors, rings, plates and sprockets for power steering pumps, rack guides, couplings, gears and racks for locking and adjusting steering wheels.
Inner and outer flanges, Hego sensor bosses, valve guides, cams, connecting rods, gears, spacers.
Gerotors, sprockets, pulleys, rings, rotors, housings, spacers.
Rotors, plates, stators, housings, gerotors, counterweights. The Ames-HAP® process allows us to obtain good precision in high-hardness (> 30 HRC) fuel pump components without machining.
End cylinders, pistons, guides, discs. The SuperCoining® process greatly improves the preload accuracy of end cylinders and pistons.
Components for seat regulation, air conditioning, doors, mirrors, cameras, seat belts, airbags, fans.
Starter motors, components for actuators, inserts, water pump hubs and pulleys, parts of cooling systems and radiators, dampers, etc.
Gears, couplings, counterweights, compressor plates, pistons and connecting rods, components for awnings, blinds, doors, windows, sundry electrical appliances.
Plumbing fittings, lawnmowers, locks, maintenance equipment, industrial machinery, agricultural machinery, medical, trains, personal care, industrial pumps, etc.
AMES may recommend the most appropiate material and design to meet your needs
Basic manufacturing process
Recommended shapes
Advantages of powder metallurgy
