A study on the development of a substitution process by powder metallurgy in automobile parts

Powder metallurgy processes using sintering are able to form net-shaped products and have been used widely in the production of automobile parts to improve productivity. However, the toughness of powder products is generally poor because they contain pores. Therefore, forged products are used in parts subjected to severe fatigue loads, but in the case of powder products having high toughness, they could substitute for forged products. In this study, the choice of powder materials and production processes, including mixing, compaction, sintering, and heat treatment are studied to produce the clutch disc spline hub of an automobile. For this, three types of materials are selected and processed and the mechanical properties and microstructure of the sample are investigated, along with the performance of a dynamic test carried out under real conditions.