The Economics of Conventional P/M Parts Production in the U. S.

Enough of the manufacturing details for powder metallurgy, (P/M) are presented, for the reader to be able to outline the steps required to make a P/M part. The production rates, hourly equipment costs, and raw material costs are provided, so that the cost of a P/M part can be estimated. Tooling costs may be estimated by comparison with a graded series of examples. Some simplified or rule of thumb methods are also provided for estimating the costs of parts with given strength requirements.