Per Lindskog

The future of ferrous PM In Europe

Abstract I believe that the competitive advantage of ferrous PM will in the future be enhanced by several factors. Among the technical ones are the achievement of much improved precision by effectively eliminating segregation. This will result in more precise composition of the components which in turn gives less dimensional scatter as well as closer control of mechanical properties. By using computer modelling and digitally controlled multi-axis presses it will further be possible to eliminate defects such as cracks – which have haunted the PM industry for generations. New applications will be developed – among the most interesting are the soft magnetic components for motors and other electric equipment. Finally the growth of the PM industry as such will result in improved economy – lower cost – simply by the economy of scale and by improvements in the manufacturing methods.

The history of Distaloy

Abstract The low alloy steel powder Distaloy†, is today widely used in applications demanding high strength and wear resistance. Its basic properties and composition were designed half a century ago in the USA. The advantage lay in the fact that it was a partial prealloy, i.e. the alloying elements – copper, nickel and molybdenum – were bonded in particulate form to the basic iron particles, thus avoiding impairment of the compressibility. By balancing the contents of nickel and copper it was possible to minimize dimensional change on sintering. Bonding the alloy particles to the iron particles minimised segregation and also contributed to dimensional stability. Carbon was added conventionally as fine graphite. However, the new powder, marketed as Ancoloy, did not take off in North America, due to the lack of suitable applications, the cost of the alloying elements and – above all – the poor compressibility and high oxygen content of the iron powder then available. The high, variable oxygen content made it impossible to control the carbon content with the precision necessary to achieve the desired strength and hardness. In the 1960s, demand for high strength precision parts emerged in the European car industry, initially at Citroen, which pioneered increased use of PM parts in European cars. The component was (and still is) the synchronising hub used in manual transmissions. Höganäs had in the mid-1960s developed a sponge iron powder with much higher compressibility, and this was taken as a raw material for an improved grade, later to be called Distaloy SA. This new powder had improved compressibility and very low oxygen and carbon contents, which made it possible to make the high strength precision parts that the car industry required. Distaloy was immediately accepted and used, first in the French car industry, then elsewhere in Europe and subsequently also in Japan. Some years later, when high compressibility atomised powder became available, the same basic technique was applied to these, to produce the Distaloy A grades, which now are most popular. Höganäs continues to improve and refine the production techniques and to come up with compositions for new applications. The properties and the metallurgy of Distaloy-based materials have been thoroughly studied by metallurgists at Höganäs and at PM laboratories throughout the world, and new results are still being reported with respect to both applications and fundamental properties. A parameter of great relevance is of course the cost of raw materials and much effort is going into finding more cost effective ways of achieving the desired results.

The founding of EPMA

This was the task we took on as we went about the foundation of EPMA in 1989. The EPMA’s predecessor, the European Powder Metallurgy Federation (EPMF), had come into being in 1986, with one important mission – to coordinate the timing of the PM World Congresses, as they were later called, with MPIF (the Metal Powder Industries Federation) in North America. Previously this had been done on an ad hoc basis by the various national PM associations, such as Ausschus fur Pulvermetallurgie in Germany, The Institute of Metals in Britain, Jernkontoret in Sweden, etc. As the international events became larger with time, it became increasingly diffi cult for a single national PM group to take on the organisation and fi nancial risk associated. EPMF was a professional organisation, based on a membership of national associations which in turn had only individual members. Dr Lothar Albano-Muller and I became members of the board of EPMF in 1988, and we both attended a board meeting for the fi rst time late in that year. The discussion around the table circled around the promotion of PM technology and the lack of fi nancial resources for this task. Both Lothar and I had experience of the vigorous and manifold activities of the MPIF in the USA and we came to the conclusion that, only by basing the organisation on corporate membership could we hope to get enough resources to support meaningful promotional activities. We proposed this to Dr Ivor Jenkins, the chairman and founder of EPMF, who supported our idea to encourage PM companies all over Europe to join us. Dr Jenkins, truly a PM pioneer, was very helpful throughout the birth process and became our fi rst honorary member. He also gave invaluable help in recommending Robert Wood as Secretary. Bob with his long experience in dealing with international organisations, set up the legal framework and drafted the bye-laws and articles of association. His knowledge of the ins and outs of the EC bureaucracy greatly facilitated the initial stages of setting up the organisation. It was decided that our new organisation should be the European Powder Metallurgy Association, EPMA, i.e. an association with direct membership – not a federation of subsidiary associations like MPIF which would be unnecessarily complicated. We formed a working group consisting of Lothar (from Krebsoge), Bob (the Institute of Metals), Andre Martre (ex Metafram) and myself (Hoganas) which met on several occasions in the offi ces of the Royal Society of Belgian Engineers at rue Ravenstein in Brussels, which we thought would be a good neutral location for the association – close to the various EC institutions. During these meetings we prepared the bye-laws and statutes. Bob with his long experience from the workings of similar organisations did a great job of drafting the documents together with Andre. Bob, and later Andre, were made honorary members as a tribute to their contributions We agreed on the following main principles of the organisation: • only European companies active in PM would be full voting members; individuals and non-European companies would be invited to become individual and associate members respectively • the association should be active in all aspects of PM: metal powders, PM components, refractory metals, PM semi-fi nished products, cemented carbides, plant and equipment, and fi nally applications • the membership fee should be so substantial as to allow the employment of a full time manager • the offi cial language of the EPMA should be English and only English. We concluded that a minimum of 40 founding members was required to make the project viable. In the spring of 1989 we sent out invitations to all European companies which to our knowledge were active in PM. It was particularly important to recruit the cemented carbide companies as these were the PM industries of greatest economic importance. On 6 June 1989, representatives of 40 PM companies from 10 European countries met in Brussels and agreed to start up the EPMA. This was the signal for much activity: establishing the EPMA as a trade association under Belgian law; defi ning the scope of promotional work of the EPMA; fi nding the right organisational model for the association; and, last but not least, to fi nd an executive who could lead the organisation through the diffi cult early years. And one who could do wonders (at a cost we could afford!). Lothar and I came up with an idea, which at fi rst we thought was