First, the desired powders or granules for the sintering process are selected and mixed in the appropriate ratio. The additional supply of a lubricant additive is also possible here.
The so-called green body is formed by molding or pressing the mixed raw material into the die at high pressure. This already corresponds to the shape of the desired sintered product.
Now the actual sintering follows. The high-temperature treatment of the green body causes the powder granules to enlarge and fuse.
The open porosity of the sintered parts is significantly reduced. Only now do the desired properties of the component, such as strength, hardness or conductivity, arise.
In the penultimate step of the sintering process, after cooling, the post-processing takes place. If necessary, mechanical post-processing and surface treatment are carried out here.
After the sintering process is complete, all components are subjected to a comprehensive visual inspection.
The entire scope of all criteria and measures of quality control in the sintering technology is coordinated according to the functions and customer requirements.
The sintering process has been used since the invention of ceramics and is continually being empirically refined. While the burning of porcelain is one of the oldest areas of application, sintered iron became increasingly important due to the lack of copper during the Second World War.
Systematic research into the sintering process, however, only began in the 1950s, when companies began to manufacture metal components from powder moldings. The knowledge gained was then transferred to the handling of high-performance ceramics.
Since the invention of sintering technology in the early 1990s, the sintering process has also been known as laser sintering (LS) because at that time all systems used a laser.
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