A comparative study of oxygen pick-up of TiHDH powder during press and sinter and loose sintering processing

Press and sinter is considered to be the most cost effective powder metallurgy process for producing parts. However, loose powder sintering shows to be a more promising cost effective powder metallurgy process as it entails pouring powder into a mould followed by sintering. The differences in their behaviour with respect to densification, maintaining dimensional stability and their oxidation behaviours determine the choice of their industrial applicability. Titanium has a high affinity for oxygen which in turn makes it difficult to process components from powder. It also affects the mechanical properties of products significantly; particularly in applications where ductility is imperative. The focus of this study was therefore to evaluate the oxygen pick-up of the two cost effective powder metallurgy processes (press and sinter and loose sintering). A 100 Mesh TiHDH powder was used for sintering. Sintering was performed at 1500 °C for 4 hours. The oxygen contents of the green and sintered compacts were then compared. High oxygen contents were observed in tap density powder and pressed samples. The loosely sintered components showed high oxygen pick-up after sintering while oxygen pick-up decreased with increasing pressure in pressed samples. These results show that press and sinter is advantageous over loose sintering where oxygen control is critical. (paper)