At present, powder metallurgy has been recognized by the industry as a green and sustainable manufacturing technology. For example, in terms of continuous function, the final forming capacity and material utilization rate of powder metallurgy are very high, which can minimize the total energy consumption. Compared with the traditional process (hot working + cold working) casting or forging + cutting, the powder metallurgy process only needs to use a few fewer processes to manufacture the same part, that is, it can complete more processes and more complex processes.
In terms of material sustainability, the final forming ability of powder metallurgy is its main advantage. For example, when forming a tooth-shaped part, up to 40% of the material in the traditional cutting process turns into chips, and 85% of all powder used in powder metallurgy is produced from recycled materials. In the production process of powder metallurgy parts, the waste loss of each process is generally 3% or less, and the material utilization rate can reach 95%.
In terms of energy sustainability, the general traditional manufacturing process requires several heating and reheating processes to form the final shape; while the atomization method is used to produce steel powder or iron powder, only the scrap steel needs to be smelted once, and all other heat Processing operations are carried out at a temperature below the melting point, which not only saves energy, but also can be made into the final shape and the required material properties and mechanical performance. Through the comparison of the material utilization rate of the metal forming process, it is found that the energy required to manufacture powder metallurgy parts is 44% of the forging-cutting parts.
In terms of environmental sustainability, due to the final forming ability characteristics of powder metallurgy, under normal circumstances, finished parts are made after sintering, which can be packaged and delivered. In most cases, the cutting oil used in the processing of powder metallurgy products is insignificant, and the toxic pollutants released by pollution sources such as cooling water are also very few. Compared with other manufacturing processes, the powder metallurgy parts industry has almost no harm to the environment.