P/M Stainless Steels Applications in Automotive Exhaust Systems

Several applications for powder metallurgy (P/M) produced stainless steel exhaust components have been approved and are in production today. Many more stainless steel parts, both ferritic and austenitic, are in the final qualification stages. This paper will review the performance and economic criteria employed by automotive companies and exhaust manufacturers in sourcing exhaust coupling flanges and oxygen sensor bosses. Also, the performance record of the components in service to date will be reviewed. Finally, the advantages of P/M steel parts versus competing metal working industries (i.e. cold stamping, cold heading, screw machining) will be detailed.