Toward high performance in powder metallurgy

Powder Metallurgy (PM) is technology well known for mass production of parts at low cost but usually with worse mechanical properties than same parts obtained by alternative routes. But using this technology, high performance materials can be obtained, depending of the processing route and the type and amount of porosity. In this paper, a brief review of the capabilities of powder technology is made with the objective of attaining the highest level of mechanical and physical properties. For this purpose, different strategies over the processing can be chosen: to act over the density/porosity level and properties of the pores, to act over strengthening mechanisms apart from the density of the material (the alloying system, the microstructure, the grain size,..), to improve the sintering activity by different routes and to use techniques that avoid the grain growth during sintering