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Ultra-hard, low-friction coating targets engine parts
PM looks towards a bright horizon in 1998 7
ROWING awareness of the powder metallurgy (PM) process engineers, among design coupled with its increasing capabilities, are providing plenty of confidence for the PM industry as it looks forward to 1998. Metal Powder Report canvassed the views of a large number of the industry’s companies in leading December 1997 and found a great deal of satisfaction with the year just gone and eager anticipation for the year ahead. The consensus of people contacted in the survey is that the PM industry’s extensive efforts in promoting the technology in recent years is beginning to pay dividends with a growing awareness of its capabilities. Several companies pointed to processing improvements and new technologies, such as warm compa.ction, as being part of the formula that was convincing end users of the merits of the PM process. Terry Cadle of Zenith Sintered Products in Germantown, Wisconsin, USA, says PM is now seen as a viable option for many dynamic and stressed components in both automotive and consumer durable applications. CM Furnace:; Inc of Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA, says it saw an increase in demand for PM parts across several industries last year. “The automotive industry is certainly the leader in volume, but other industries are now embracing PM parts, which created an overall growth in 1997,” the company says. “We feel this strong growth is because PM manufacturing technology is becoming more recognized as an economical near net shape process which can provide improved properties.” In terms of more specific events during 1997, GKN’s US$570 million acquisition
of Sinter Metals Inc and the success of stainless steel flanges in the North American automotive market were widely seen as the year’s highlights. GKN’s move was seen as significant not only in the fact that it created a very large organization with truly global reach, but that it continues a shift for PM parts industry away from their historical background as privately held companies and into the public arena. Mark C. Paullin, director of Capstan Industries in Ranch0 Palos Verdes, California, USA, says this shift will give the plants that are part of publicly listed organizations access to capital at a significantly lower cost than their privately held competitors. “Over the next few year. this could put these public firms at a competitive advantage to their private neighbours with a final result of increasing the pace of the sale of private companies,” Paullin says. While believing this is the trend for the future, Paullin says in the near term the sale of private companies is likely to slow as GKN and others digest their 1997 purchases. Another field of PM highlighted for its achievements in 1997 was nanostructured materials. Materials Modification Inc of Fairfax, Virginia, USA, says while these materials are still considered by many to be in their embryonic stage great strides had been made.
Year ahead
While the PM industry is expecting further growth in 1998, there is a wide realization that there are a number of challenges that need to be met to fully capitalize on these opportunities. Further technical advances, particularly in the areas of density, mechanical properties and dimensional control, are regarded as being essential to continuing mar-
ket penetration. And, of course, industry promotion remains a priority. Carl Evans of Pyron Corp in Niagara Falls, New York, USA, says as more design engineers become familiar with the scope of the PM’s capabilities, the industry will continue to grow. “The challenge is to effectively communicate this PM technology to the correct individuals, demonstrating effectively that PM’s technology is a superior and cost competitive process,” he says. Many in the PM industry are also quick to recognize the threat from improvements in competitors. Endorsing these views, Dr Leslie Renny of Into Speciality Powder Products in Swansea, UK, believes the European industry will also have to face an increasingly ‘antimetal’ culture. particularly among politicians and policy makers. Renny says the PM industry may also suffer from limits to the growth of its major customer, the automotive industry, particularly as a result of environmental concerns such as the ‘Greenhouse Effect’. As the PM industry itself becomes more and more global, it is perhaps not surprising that aspects of the world economy are increasingly seen as being important determiners of future success. This factor is certainly high among the list of concerns with a number of PM companies in 1998, particularly with regard to the troubles currently faced by a number of Asian economies. An internal concern that is increasingly being voiced by PM companies is the danger that further growth will leave the industry short of suitably qualified staff. This is seen as a potential problem by all sectors of the industry. Simon Pickering
MPR January 1998 15
ROWING awareness of the powder metallurgy (PM) process engineers, among design coupled with its increasing capabilities, are providing plenty of confidence for the PM industry as it looks forward to 1998. Metal Powder Report canvassed the views of a large number of the industry’s companies in leading December 1997 and found a great deal of satisfaction with the year just gone and eager anticipation for the year ahead. The consensus of people contacted in the survey is that the PM industry’s extensive efforts in promoting the technology in recent years is beginning to pay dividends with a growing awareness of its capabilities. Several companies pointed to processing improvements and new technologies, such as warm compa.ction, as being part of the formula that was convincing end users of the merits of the PM process. Terry Cadle of Zenith Sintered Products in Germantown, Wisconsin, USA, says PM is now seen as a viable option for many dynamic and stressed components in both automotive and consumer durable applications. CM Furnace:; Inc of Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA, says it saw an increase in demand for PM parts across several industries last year. “The automotive industry is certainly the leader in volume, but other industries are now embracing PM parts, which created an overall growth in 1997,” the company says. “We feel this strong growth is because PM manufacturing technology is becoming more recognized as an economical near net shape process which can provide improved properties.” In terms of more specific events during 1997, GKN’s US$570 million acquisition
of Sinter Metals Inc and the success of stainless steel flanges in the North American automotive market were widely seen as the year’s highlights. GKN’s move was seen as significant not only in the fact that it created a very large organization with truly global reach, but that it continues a shift for PM parts industry away from their historical background as privately held companies and into the public arena. Mark C. Paullin, director of Capstan Industries in Ranch0 Palos Verdes, California, USA, says this shift will give the plants that are part of publicly listed organizations access to capital at a significantly lower cost than their privately held competitors. “Over the next few year. this could put these public firms at a competitive advantage to their private neighbours with a final result of increasing the pace of the sale of private companies,” Paullin says. While believing this is the trend for the future, Paullin says in the near term the sale of private companies is likely to slow as GKN and others digest their 1997 purchases. Another field of PM highlighted for its achievements in 1997 was nanostructured materials. Materials Modification Inc of Fairfax, Virginia, USA, says while these materials are still considered by many to be in their embryonic stage great strides had been made.
Year ahead
While the PM industry is expecting further growth in 1998, there is a wide realization that there are a number of challenges that need to be met to fully capitalize on these opportunities. Further technical advances, particularly in the areas of density, mechanical properties and dimensional control, are regarded as being essential to continuing mar-
ket penetration. And, of course, industry promotion remains a priority. Carl Evans of Pyron Corp in Niagara Falls, New York, USA, says as more design engineers become familiar with the scope of the PM’s capabilities, the industry will continue to grow. “The challenge is to effectively communicate this PM technology to the correct individuals, demonstrating effectively that PM’s technology is a superior and cost competitive process,” he says. Many in the PM industry are also quick to recognize the threat from improvements in competitors. Endorsing these views, Dr Leslie Renny of Into Speciality Powder Products in Swansea, UK, believes the European industry will also have to face an increasingly ‘antimetal’ culture. particularly among politicians and policy makers. Renny says the PM industry may also suffer from limits to the growth of its major customer, the automotive industry, particularly as a result of environmental concerns such as the ‘Greenhouse Effect’. As the PM industry itself becomes more and more global, it is perhaps not surprising that aspects of the world economy are increasingly seen as being important determiners of future success. This factor is certainly high among the list of concerns with a number of PM companies in 1998, particularly with regard to the troubles currently faced by a number of Asian economies. An internal concern that is increasingly being voiced by PM companies is the danger that further growth will leave the industry short of suitably qualified staff. This is seen as a potential problem by all sectors of the industry. Simon Pickering
MPR January 1998 15