General Description of Production, Properties, and Uses of
Sintered Metal Powder Bearings and Structural Parts1
This information serves as a guide to the specifications for sintered metal powder bearings and structural parts (ASTM Designations:
B 255, B 282, B 438/B 438M, B 439, B 458, B 595, B 612, B 715, B 782, B 783, B 817, B 823, B 848, B 853, and B 883).2
Powder metallurgy (P/M) components are made by cold
pressing and sintering metal powders. These parts may be used
as bearings or in structural applications. The P/M process is
used for economic advantage and unique properties. 1,2
PROCESSING
The major processing steps are compacting or cold pressing
a metal powder and sintering the resultant compact.
Cold Pressing
The initial step is the application of pressure to the desired
quantity of metal powder in a die. To a large degree, cold
pressing dictates the density, shape, dimensions, and mechani-
cal properties of the finished P/M part.
Sintering
Under properly controlled conditions of temperature, heating
rate, time, and furnace atmosphere, the cold-pressed metal
powder particles are metallurgically bonded and the compact is
converted to a useful part. The sintering temperature has the
greatest influence on final properties; however, sintering time
and furnace atmosphere can be selected to provide optimum
properties along with cost-effective processing.
Secondary Processing
Additional processing steps include coining, sizing, repress-
ing, resintering, impregnation, and infiltration (see Terminol-
ogy B 243). Of course P/M parts can also be heat treated,
plated, or machined as required. However, since P/M parts are
less dense than cast or wrought materials, these processing
steps may have to be modified from typical practice used for
fully dense parts.
BEARINGS
P/M bearings (Specifications B 438/B 438M, B 439, B 612,
and B 782) are self-lubricating because their porosity is im-
pregnated with lubricants during manufacture. In use, heat
causes the lubricant to expand out of the pores, forming a film
between parts. When operation is suspended, the lubricant
cools and is drawn back into the pores for subsequent reuse.
Low coefficients of friction, minimal maintenance and trouble-
free service life, low cost, and simple installation are the chief
1
First published in the compilation of “ASTM Standards on Metal Powders and
Metal Powder Products,” September 1959. Revised February 2002.
2
These specifications appear in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 02.05.
1
advantages of P/M bearings.
Both copper-base and iron-base P/M bearings are manufac-
tured and used. The copper-base bearings have either bronze
(Cu-10Sn) or leaded bronze compositions when considered for
general purpose use. These alloys are also made with graphite
additions in which the added solid lubrication is deemed
necessary. Iron-base sintered metal bearings are supplied in a
variety of compositions such as plain iron, iron-carbon, iron-
copper, and iron-copper-carbon. They are used where ample
lubrication is provided, where higher loads and slower speeds
are prevalent, and where cost factors are significant.
STRUCTURAL PARTS
P/M structural parts are used wherever they offer an eco-
nomic advantage. This advantage can be realized in the
manufacture of unusual shapes, the elimination of secondary
machining or grinding operations, and the elimination of scrap
losses. Structural parts can be made to various levels of
mechanical properties, which makes them desirable in upgrad-
ing or improving product at little or no extra cost. The
properties of P/M parts depend upon a number of factors.
Composition
As in most metallic materials, chemical composition has a
major effect on properties. For ferrous parts, those made from
unalloyed iron powder have the lowest strength and hardness.
For stronger parts, iron-copper, iron-carbon, and iron-copper-
carbon alloys are used. (Examples of these variations may be
found in Specification B 783.) Iron-copper alloys are usually
more easily machined than iron-carbon alloys. On the other
hand, sintered iron parts containing combined carbon can be
heat treated by methods appropriate for cast and wrought steel
parts. It is frequently preferable to quench porous P/M iron-
carbon parts in oil to avoid corrosion problems with water.
Careful control of sintering and heat-treating atmospheres is
necessary to maintain the desired combined carbon level at the
part surface. Of course, carburizing and other gaseous surface
treatments are applicable to ferrous P/M parts. Depending on
the level of porosity, the depth of surface reaction will be
greater for a fixed time compared to fully dense parts.
Density and Mechanical Properties
An important factor affecting the properties of structural
parts is their porosity. (The relative density is equal to one
minus the volume fraction of porosity). In general, increasing
the density of a P/M part will increase its tensile strength,
 Sintered Metal Powder Bearings and Structural Parts
compressive strength, and ductility. The indentation hardness
of a sintered material is also strongly affected by its porosity,
because the voids in the structure of a material do not
contribute to the support of the indenter. The indentation of a
porous material provides an apparent hardness, which is lower
than the indentation hardness of a void-free material with
identical composition and structure. For a material of given
composition and structure, there is a direct relationship be-
tween density and hardness; the lower the density, the lower
will be its apparent hardness. Microhardness techniques are
recommended to minimize void effects. Low indenter loads
and the small volume of the hardness impression provide this
capability.
Low-Density Parts
Structural components that have relatively low density and
high porosity have the added advantage of self-lubrication as in
sintered metal bearings. This self-lubrication provides a lower
coefficient of friction and lower wear in applications in which
sliding movement is involved as in gears and cams. In plating
low-density parts, special precautions must be observed so that
the plating salts are not entrapped in the pores of the parts. This
could cause eventual discoloration of the finish, internal
corrosion, and “flowering” of the plated surface. Techniques of
burnishing, carefully controlled shot peening, and resin im-
pregnation have been developed to either close the surface
pores or fill all pores and thereby avoid these defects. Ferrous
parts are being successfully plated with copper, nickel, chro-
mium, cadmium, zinc, and other metals; nonferrous parts may
also be plated.
Iron-base P/M parts may be economically finished by steam
treating, in which the parts are heated in an atmosphere of
steam, or by oxidation in air. These treatments produce on the
parts a black finish which not only improves their corrosion
resistance, but also makes them harder and more wear resistant.
Corrosion resistance can be further enhanced by immersing the
parts in light oil which will remain in the pores providing a
barrier to corrosive media.
Low-carbon sintered ferrous parts may be carburized and
hardened by gas carburizing and quenching. However, for
low-density parts, no sharply defined case is formed, since the
carbonaceous gas readily penetrates into the core of the parts
through their interconnected pores. Liquid carburizing of
low-density parts should be avoided because of possible
corrosion as a result of entrapment of salt within the pores.
Higher Density Parts
Increased density in structural parts is frequently attainable
by additional manufacturing operations. For this reason, higher
density parts are generally more costly. Coining and repressing
of parts are used to increase their density and to cold work
them. Depending upon the degree of densification and cold
working, repressing will increase the hardness and strength of
parts, while decreasing ductility. In brass parts, for instance, the
apparent hardness of the sintered part may be of the order of
wrought annealed brass, while coining and repressing may
increase the apparent hardness to that of one-quarter hard
wrought brass. A second sintering operation after repressing
2
will remove the effect of the cold work and result in higher
ductility.
Ferrous parts with densities over 7 g/cm3 can be produced by
suitable choice of powders and compacting, sintering, repress-
ing, and resintering conditions (Specification B 783). When
density exceeds 7.3 g/cm3, there is no longer any appreciable
amount of interconnected porosity. Parts can therefore be
carburized and surface hardened in a manner very similar to
wrought steel, and they can also be plated similarly to wrought
parts without any special precautions. The strength, hardness,
and toughness of high-density steel (iron-carbon alloy) parts
can be improved by quenching and tempering treatments
similar to those used for wrought steels. To increase the
hardenability of these parts, alloying elements may be added to
the base iron-carbon composition.
Another method of increasing the density of ferrous parts,
which is widely used for highly stressed parts, is by infiltration
with copper or a copper alloy (Specification B 783). Infiltration
improves the strength, ductility, and impact strength of ferrous
parts. Infiltrated parts can also be plated without special
precautions and can be joined by welding or brazing. The
strength of carbon-free copper infiltrated parts may be in-
creased by a solution and precipitation treatment. Carbon
containing infiltrated parts may be heat treated by quenching
and tempering.
Qualification Tests
Generally, standard test specimens cannot be machined from
structural P/M parts for mechanical property testing. For this
reason, the specifications for mechanical properties of struc-
tural parts provide for qualification tests. These tests should be
agreed upon by the manufacturer and the purchaser upon
consideration of the function which the part is to perform.
Compressive strength and ductility can be determined by
deforming the part under compression, or by bending, and
observing whether fracture occurs before the part has exhibited
sufficient strength or ductility for the intended purpose. Impact
properties can be determined by dropping a weight upon the
part to be tested. The weight, height of drop, point of impact,
and the method of supporting the test specimen should be
prescribed.
Hardness may, for certain applications, be used as a quali-
fication test. All normal precautions in hardness testing, such as
avoiding an anvil effect in thin parts, must be observed.
However, the best manufacturing controls and test procedures
cannot prevent occasional stray hardness readings considerably
below, or above, the mean hardness value for a sample lot of
production sintered metal powder parts. Therefore, the inspec-
tion of production parts for hardness must be done in a
prescribed manner to avoid a question of acceptability of lots
of parts.
Where microhardness test equipment is available, the uni-
versality of application of the hardness scale provides for a
convenient hardness number series. Even though a seemingly
large range of hardness numbers may be obtained by micro-
hardness tests, conversion back to a familiar Rockwell scale
will provide for hardness numbers over a very limited range.
If Rockwell hardness tests are used, a wide variety of scales
 Sintered Metal Powder Bearings and Structural Parts
is available to match the test requirements of a given material.
The choice of scales need not be limited to those presently
designated in the list published by the instrument maker. For
example, a combination of 1⁄8-in. carbide ball, 100-kg load, and
the black scale will provide hardness data for a wide variety of
medium density, hardenable, ferrous, sintered materials with an
acceptable spread of readings, between 0 and 115. The familiar
Rockwell scales such as B, C, and 15T have been used to
advantage.
One useful concept for developing a hardness specification
for acceptance inspection is “minimum average hardness.” The
average of a specified number of indentations must not be less
than a given minimum value. There may be an occasion when
the specified hardness may be no less than a stated minimum
average and no more than a stated maximum average. Thus, a
hardness specification may include details as follows:
(1) A minimum (and possibly a maximum) average hard-
ness should be specified for acceptance inspection of parts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
For additional, more detailed information, the following publications
are recommended:
(1) German, R. M., Powder Metallurgy Science, Metal Powder
Industries Federation, Princeton, NJ, 1984.
(2) Lenel, F. V., Powder Metallurgy Principles and Applications, Metal
Powder Industries Federation, Princeton, NJ, 1980.
(3) Materials Standards for P/M Structural Parts (MPIF Standard 35),
Metal Powder Industries Federation, Princeton, NJ, 2000.
(4) Materials Standards for P/M Self-Lubricating Bearings (MPIF Stan-
dard 35), Metal Powder Industries Federation, Princeton, NJ, 1998.
(2) The number of indentations per part, or the number of
parts to be checked, or both, should be specified.
(3) The section of a part to be checked should be specified.
(4) If parts are thin, a scale must be chosen to ensure that
indentation effects do not penetrate through the part.
(5) Hardness scale (see discussion above).
Recommendation
The mechanical properties listed in the appendixes to the
specifications for structural parts should be considered as
typical for parts made by normal production methods. Superior
mechanical properties can be achieved by special processing
methods. It is suggested that the purchaser work closely with
the parts fabricator in the design and development of new parts
or in the conversion to powder metallurgy fabrication of
existing parts.
(5) “Powder Metallurgy Materials,” in Metallography and Microstructure,
ASM Metals Handbook, 9th ed., Vol 9, American Society for Metals,
Metals Park, OH, 1985, pp. 503–530.
(6) Powder Metallurgy Design Manual, 3rd ed., Metal Powder Industries
Federation, Princeton, NJ, 1998.
(7) Powder Metallurgy Design Solutions, 2nd ed., Metal Powder
Industries Federation, Princeton, NJ, 1999.
(8) Powder Metal Technologies and Applications, ASM Handbook, Vol 7,
American Society for Metals, Metals Park, OH, 1998.