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).

Some grand prize award highlights include:

A Grand Prize in the Hardware/Appliance Category for Metal AM components has been awarded to Kennametal Inc. for a stator bore-reaming tool. The AM component is part of a cutting tool for machining stator bore housings for electric vehicle motors. It machines two diameters concurrently in one pass. The component was built using laser powder-bed-fusion (PBF-LB) with one part per. The part design allowed large sections of the component to be self-supporting. The AM process allowed the production of a lightweight component, facilitating manual and automated tool handling, as well as enabling faster and more efficient acceleration of the machine spindle.

A Grand Prize in the Hardware/Appliances Category for Conventional PM components has been awarded to FMS Corporation and their customer Dynamis Solutions, for support bushings that serve as clamping washers in a concentrated solar-power generation application. The parts solve a problem encountered during cleaning and maintenance of the heliostats. The original connection used a fastener and a common lock washer to secure the azimuth drive to the pylon and the hole elongated in service. Heliostats, equipped with large mirrors, are arranged in a circle around a central receiver tower and focus solar rays to heat a synthetic oil that is used to generate steam to power a turbine and generate electricity. The PM component facilitates an improved connection between the azimuth drive of a heliostat and a fixed steel support pylon in the ground.

Award of distinction highlights include:

An Award of Distinction has also been given, in the Automotive—Engine Category for Conventional PM components, to AAM – Subiaco Manufacturing Facility for a camshaft position sensor exciter wheel used in full-size pick-up trucks and sport-utility vehicles. The exciter wheel mounts on the camshaft and provides target corners for the cam sensor to input data to the engine control module to determine the camshaft position and velocity. The PM process has better material utilization compared with stamping and the parts are acceptable for recycling as they do not contain copper.

In the Lawn & 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 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.

An Award of Distinction, in the Industrial Motors/Controls & Hydraulics Category for Conventional PM components, has been given to Phoenix Sintered Metals LLC for a piston brake spring-return assembly for their customer Muncie Power Products, Inc. The piston engages the clutch-pack under pressure and the taper feature acts as a brake when disengaged. This was the first use of this unique design power-take-off system. The ability to form the tone-ring feature on the inner hub of the piston was a feature not available on the prior part design that was machined from bar stock.

In the Industrial Motors/Controls & Hydraulics Category for MIM components, an Award of Distinction has been given to INDO-MIM Pvt Ltd., for a cone that acts as a fluid controller in a fuel pump. Molding this complex part with 13 multiple steps and cross-holes without merging lines and weld-line defects is a challenge. The intricate profiles of the part have tight tolerances.

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