BRIDGEVILLE, PA., USA - (February 14, 2003) - Significant savings in manufacturing costs can be realized by using high-performance hot forged tooling and near-net shape components made from customized or composite alloys by means of new advanced method of powder metals compaction.

A wide range of such products, including simple blanks and shapes, now can be designed for specific applications by Carpenter Powder Products (CPP), a division of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS), Reading, Pa. CPP employs a proprietary PM consolidation process performed on a 2,500-ton Dynaforge forging press.



Manufacturers of automotive parts, using CPP's new DM21 nickel-base alloy for hot forged tooling, have reported tool life 5 to 20 times longer than that obtained from conventional wrought tool steels like H-13 alloy. DM21 is a PM superalloy developed for use in aerospace turbine disks.

Dies, punches and other forging tools for warm or hot forming, made from Dynaforged, customized alloys, have greater strength and hardness than conventional tool steels at elevated temperatures. DM21 alloy's strength at temperatures above 1,100°F (593°C) exceeds that of any iron-based tool steel.



Tools made from CPP's DM21 alloy, used in hot forging service, have held a hardness of RC 45 to 50 during the entire forging operation. In contrast, the hardness of conventional tool steels drops from 50 to 25 RC during forging due to surface softening and deformation. This decline produces a part that fails to meet dimensional tolerance and precipitates a costly shutdown of the forging operation with associated expense for lost production, tool replacement and skilled labor.

CPP has made economical high-performance tooling of composite alloys, using its DM21 alloy in combination with Nimark® 300 alloy, for example, and in another case, 17-4PH alloy. In both cases, the DM21 alloy was used for the working part of the tool and the second alloy for fixturing.

Carpenter's DM21 alloy, other tailored nickel-base alloys and titanium made by the Dynaforge process can be considered for aerospace parts and medical applications. All materials consolidated by this means have excellent fracture toughness and uniform properties with no segregation.

The new powder metallurgy consolidation process provides a more cost-effective means of making near-net shapes. Dynaforge components (1) can be made with minimal tooling cost (2) allow better utilization of expensive input materials (3) provide better quality than cast/wrought or investment cast alternatives. The end user can benefit from reduced cycle time, superior quality and lower net costs.

Fully dense PM components can be made from feed stock that is currently available in sizes up to 5-in. dia. by 10-in. long. This product lineup could be expanded with larger press tooling and/or press size.

CPP offers titanium and cobalt chromium alloys, mainstay materials for medical prosthetic implants, for parts with complex geometries including hollow cavities. These alloys, made by the Dynaforge process, can be considered for a variety of prosthetic applications because of their superior uniformity and overall improved quality.

Dynaforge is a powder metallurgy rapid consolidation process that can make components from a single alloy or multiple alloy metal compositions. Gas-atomized metal alloy powder is loaded into a container, degassed and sealed, heated to a suitable temperature, transferred to the Dynaforge hydraulic press and densified with very high quasi-isostatic pressures. Full density consolidation occurs within a few seconds. Densification occurs at higher pressures and more quickly than in any other commercial PM consolidation process.

The unique mechanical properties obtained via this method of manufacture can be attributed to the fact that the Dynaforge process does not rely on a diffusion reaction, but rather on shear deformation at powder particle interfaces. This deformation, created by exceptionally high forging pressures, yields fresh material surfaces that readily bond during the consolidation cycle. Equally important is the fact that consolidation is a solid-state process (no melting) which allows many metal powders to retain unique as-atomized microstructures in the densified component.

Shapes from CPP are machinable using carbide or ceramic tools, RAM or wire EDM.


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For more information about the Dynaforge process and products, or other Carpenter Powder Products alloys, you can access the company's technical database at www.carpenterpowder.com or call 1-800-527-6900.

Carpenter Powder Products is a Carpenter business unit that manufactures, sells and services gas-atomized nickel-, cobalt- and iron-based alloy powder products including PM and conventional tool steels.

Carpenter Technology Corporation, based in Wyomissing, Pa., is a leading manufacturer and distributor of specialty alloys including stainless steels and titanium, and various engineered products. Carpenter had sales of $977 million in fiscal year 2002 (ended June 30, 2002).