The well-established Universal Powder Press UPP, designed by the Swiss press manufacturer Osterwalder AG in Lyss, went through a major improvement process. The result is a high efficient production machine with state-of-the-art technology. It will be shown the technical design, some process engineering as well as the influence of PRP - =Part-Related-Programming, first published in 1994 - on the set-up time. This development has enabled Osterwalder to round off their range of presses, the mechanical-hydraulic KPP as well as the hydraulic CA-NC II and UPP, to an attractive offer ranging from 120 kN up to 10'000 kN.

Study about the feasibility and effect of high-energy ball milling on a specific Mg alloy under protection medium of alcohol was presented via comparing with conventional vacuum milling. More fine particles with wider powder size distribution but more irregular shape were shown of the powder milled under alcohol. No obvious oxide was revealed from the two kinds of Mg alloy powders with limited milling time. And since slip induced in a preferential direction, the (002) texture was formed in the Mg alloy powders at the initial stage of alcohol milling. More O and Fe contaminants were introduced into the powders milled under alcohol according to the EDS analysis.

A new mathematical simulation technique for physico-mechanical properties of multi-component powder materials is proposed in this paper. The main advantage of the technique is that finite elements representing different components are placed into a common mesh and may exchange their properties. The output data are properties of material after sintering. The technique allows us to investigate the influence of each component of a material on the properties and distribution of properties inside the sample. The comparative analysis of materials with different compositions is based on simulation results that are well concordant with the results of the laboratory experiments.

In order to clarify the wear resistance as cutting tools, the effect of oxygen addition on oxidation behavior of the β-Si3N4 ceramics with 5 mass% Y2O3 and 2 or 4 mass% Al2O3 was investigated by performing oxidation tests in air at 1300° to 1400°C and cutting performance tests. From test results, we could conclude that the mechanical properties of β-Si3N4 ceramics depending on oxygen introduction are much effective on cutting performance improvements of β-Si3N4 ceramics.

Warm compaction powder metallurgy was used to produce a Ti3SiC2 particulate reinforced Cu matrix composite. Fabrication parameters and warm compaction behaviors of Cu powder were studied. Based on the optimized fabrication parameters a Cu-based electrical contact material was prepared. Results showed that in expend of some electrical conductivity, addition of Ti3SiC2 particulate increased the hardness, wear resistivity and anti-friction ability of the sintered Cu-base material.

The composite used in this paper was prepared by hot-pressing ball-milled Mg alloy powders, in which NiTi shape memory alloy fibers in a row were sandwiched. The microstructure and property were examined. It is shown that the composite consisted of a homogenous matrix with uniformly distributed NiTi shape memory alloy fibers, recrystallization took place in the Mg alloy matrix which was subjected to plastic deformation an adequate bonding formed between the matrix and fibers; the density and tensile strength of the composite increased after the hot-forging; the hot-forging process is capable of improving properties of the composite.

Microstructure and soft magnetic properties of bulk amorphous and/or nanocrystalline Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 alloys prepared by consolidation at 5.5GPa were investigated. The relative density of the bulk sample 1 (from amorphous powders) was 98.5% and the grain sizes were about 10.6nm. While the relative density and grain sizes of bulk sample 2 (from nanocrystalline powders) are 98% and 20.1nm, respectively. Particularly, the bulk samples exhibited a good combined magnetic property: for Sample1, Ms=125emu/g and Hc=1.5Oe; for Sample2, Ms=129emu/g and Hc=3.3Oe. The success of synthesizing the nanocrystalline Fe-based bulk alloys will be encouraging for the future development of bulk nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys.

The research involves the development of a powder metallurgical route for producing good quality TiAl targets for making physical vapour deposition (PVD) coatings. Mixtures of elemental titanium and aluminium powders were mechanically milled using a novel discus milling technique under various conditions. Hot isotropic pressing (HIP) was then employed for consolidation of the mechanically alloyed powders. A cathodic arc vapour deposition process was applied to produce a TiAlN coating. Microstructural examination was conducted on the target material and PVD coatings, using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been found that combining mechanical alloying and HIP enable us to produce fairly good quality of TiAl based target. The PVD coatings obtained from the TiAl target showed very high microhardness values.

Two different commercial aluminium powder grades have been densified by direct hot extrusion. The extrusion temperature was 425 °C, with an extrusion ratio of 1:16. Prior to extrusion, some green compacts were pre-sintered (500 °C). The evolution of the extrusion load during the process and the hardness of the final products have been investigated. Additionally, microstructural characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) was carried out. The obtained results evidence grain refinement. Additionally, inter-metallic precipitation, dynamic recovery and geometric dynamic recrystallization take place depending on some process variables, powder composition, heat treatment, strain ...

The Application of powder metallurgy (PM) aluminum structural parts is at its early growing stage, despite of some automotive applications. The market potential for PM aluminum, however, is large. Growth is expected from the market expansion of the existing applications and new applications, including the replacements of aluminum and zinc based castings and some ferrous PM automotive parts by PM aluminum. Compared to castings, PM is an efficient mass production technology. The PM aluminum is more competitive than die casting for some automotive applications. Besides weight saving leading to performance improvement, the total cost increase for aluminum PM parts is less than 15% compared to ferrous PM automotive parts. The future is promising for PM aluminum.

High strength PM aluminium alloys Al-Zn-Mg-Cu (7075 type) were studied by using commercially available powder blends and the sinter-forging technique for component production. Principal areas of focus include the response to PM processing, micro structural assessment and material properties of Aluminium sinter forged products. Green preforms are successfully sintered to near full density by solid-supersolidus liquid phase sintering. Sinter forging method can produce components with net shape and mechanical characteristics of the material have improved greatly. Properties of this new PM Al-alloy were found to be reproducible in an industrial production environment.