Powder forging has progressed in three decades through the stages of incubation, growth, and maturity, now accounting for 8% of the 5 B global PM market. In this presentation, a history of the technical development of powder forging will be recounted, from early failed attempts and misconceptions, through seminal academic and industrial research, to technical and commercial success. Discussion covers the contributions of government and industrial funding, fundamental knowledge development, and industrial champions for successful implementation. The focus is on lessons learned that may be beneficial to the transition of other technologies for the powder metallurgy industry.

A new approach to sintering loose packed, coarse aluminum alloy powder to full or near full density is presented. A controlled amount of water vapor is introduced into the sintering atmosphere, which disru pts the oxide film and allows metallurgical contact between particles. In addition, supersolidus liquid phase sintering is used to sinter the part to full density. Since the method is particularly applicable to uncompacted powders, it is potentially useful for sintering aluminum powder preforms manufactured by 3DPrinting and powder injection molding.