The winners in the 2024 Powder Metallurgy (PM) Design Excellence Awards competition, sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), demonstrate outstanding examples of PM’s diversity and ability to meet critical requirements. From electric vehicles to medical implants, once again, parts fabricators have demonstrated PM’s versatility and unique ability to challenge competing technologies. These award-winning components use PM’s flexibility to push forward new concepts and process controls to demonstrate the inexhaustible range of PM’s capabilities. 

Ten Grand Prizes and seventeen Awards of Distinction were given in this year's competition, segmented into 3 categories: Conventional Press and Sinter PM; Metal Injection Molding (MIM); and Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM).

AMES Group Sintering

A Grand Prize in the Automotive—Transmission Category for Conventional PM components has been awarded to AMES Group Sintering S.A. for a hub used in the clutch of a transfer case of a four-wheel drive car. The customer qualified the parts by applying four bench tests—a static strength test, a pulse fatigue test, a dynamic fatigue test, and a balancing rotary test. The PM route was selected rather than a machined forging due to its ability to combine complex part shape, high accuracy of some characteristics without machining, low material waste, and a competitive cost. A 25% reduction in material waste was achieved compared with machining the part from a forging.

In the Lawn and Garden/Off-Highway Category for Conventional PM components, an Award of Distinction has been given to Capstan Atlantic and their customer Ardisam Inc. for a multi-component gear assembly used in Ardisam’s Earthquake brand - Pioneer Rear Tine Tiller. A special heat-treatment cycle was developed to maintain hardness but also maximize ultimate tensile strength and impact energy. Tight tolerance machining and machining of the teeth without burrs required the development of special machining cycles and insert materials.

In the Hand Tools/Recreation Category for Conventional PM components, an Award of Distinction has been given to Capstan for a stainless-steel drive gear used in a throttle system with a stack-up of three stainless-steel PM gears. Multi-level tooling was used to create the five separate levels of the part and intricate powder transfer and motions were required to displace material for the “slot” surface due to the thin cross-section. The compaction process achieved about 60% of the final shape of the part and secondary CNC lathe turning and milling operations were used to achieve the bore depths, hub diameter, groove, and tapped hole. 

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