Unconventional methods of sintering Inconel 718 MIM samples

International audienceIn this investigation, three different ways of sintering Inconel 718 MIM samples are compared. The conventional way of sintering in a furnace will be compared to FAHP and microwave sintering. The difficulty of these two methods is to be able to control the shrinkage of the sample and so its shape. These methods have yet not been investigated with a super alloy powder and so, the effects of a high sintering rate on a MIM sample. By accelerating the sintering kinetics, the thermal behavior may be modified. Hence, the behavior of the Inconel 718 sintered by field assisted and microwave sintering has been investigated. The sintered samples were all injected from a feedstock composed of a fine particle Inconel powder and a binder principally composed of CAB and PEG. They were debinded into water for 24h and put in a furnace at 500°C during 2 hours. The heating rate of the furnace was set to 5°C/min until 1290°C during 2 hours. The heating rate of the FAHP was set to 50°C/min until 1250°C during 15 minutes. The microwave sampleswere sintered around 1300°C during 1 hour, the temperature was increased progressively by steps of 100°C. The effects of the different process on the microstructure and the mechanical properties are then compared. There was no difference in distribution of pores between the conventional sintering and the FAHP sintering but a finer grain size showed better hardness. The microwave sintering of a MIM sample is more complex and the best properties were not obtained