Advances in High Performance PM Alloys for Automotive Applications

The as-sintered and the sintered and tempered transverse rupture and tensile properties of seven recently developed high performance PM compositions are reviewed. Two are improved versions of the well known diffusion alloyed grades according to MPIF Standard 35. Two others are likewise improved versions of more highly alloyed analogs of the latter that have only recently been introduced. The remaining three are all new compositions that take advantage of the powerful alloying effects of silicon. The silicon is added by a proprietary method that greatly reduces its susceptibility to oxidation during sintering, an effect that has heretofore limited its use.