The course, which takes place from 18-21 June 2013 in St. Marys, PA, can: help improve common troubleshooting skills and delubing; reduce smoky emissions; and point the way toward improving production rate through current furnaces.

Although the course is focused on iron-based conventional PM parts, the lectures on basics and hands-on experiments are also suitable for the removal and burning of lubricants and binders used in MIM, heavy metal alloy sintering, carbide sintering, stainless steel sintering, non-ferrous sintering, infiltration, high-temperature sintering, vacuum sintering etc.

According to the organiser, TAT CEO Harb Nayar, the course covers:

Delubing: Properties of wax-like lubricant; What chemical reactions are important? How it comes out of green part entering the furnace? What effects its vapourization? What helps to move the vapuors away from the part without leaving any sooty residue on the part or the belt or the inside of the furnace? What is the best way to “burn” or “destroy” the lubricant vapour before the vapour leaves the front of the furnace? What optimum combination of temperature, atmosphere composition & flow and time (belt speed) will give clean delubing operation in the shortest possible time in environmentally friendlier way without leaving  soot anywhere on the part or in the furnace and without any decarb or frostiness or lower hardness on the part itself? How do we know delubing phase of the sintering cycle is complete? 

Reduction of particle surfaces throughout the part: What are the oxide-reducing agents available? Chemical reactions? Why the oxide reduction is important? What are the roles of temperature, atmosphere and time in the oxide reduction phase? How do we know the oxide reduction is sufficiently completed so that the next phase can get started?

Diffusion of carbon from the admixed graphite into the iron matrix: It is critical that carbon diffuses into the entire iron matrix of the part well before copper (admixed or for infiltration) melts. Why? What temperature? Role of time and atmosphere composition? How do we know that all carbon is diffused? 

More information about the course can be found here. To listen to Reg Tucker's exclusive interview with Dr Nayar, click here to access the podcast.

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