When you consider producing a part in metal, there are several ways to achieve the desired design. At FJ Industries we produce parts using several methods: casting, machining and powder metal. This case concerns a customer who switched from a machined part to a powder metal part. That resulted in several benefits for the customer, including:
- Reduced price
- A re-design of the part
- Achieved narrow tolerances
- Dimensional stability
Reduced price
The customer experienced a price reduction of 54% simply by switching from a machined part to a powder metal part. Typically, price reductions are achieved because of the savings in the production of a powder part compared to a machined part. This is partly due to the fact that post-processing of a powder metal part can usually be avoided – there is no waste.
Same functionality - changed shape
When producing parts in powder metal, design changes are often necessary to make it suitable for production. In this case, the complexity of the part was reduced and thereby the tooling costs without changing the functionality of the part. This resulted in a lower piece price for the customer. Our in-house experts can help adapt the part to powder metal technology so you can profit from the benefits of powder metal.
What the customer originally wanted
What the customer got after changing the shape but keeping the functionality
Achieving narrow tolerances
Narrow tolerances can be achieved with casting, powder metal and machining technologies. However, with powder metal technology, narrow tolerances can be achieved more frequently and are less costly compared to the other technologies. In this specific customer case, we achieved a higher repeatability when producing with powder technology, thereby avoiding the challenges of stress in the material that can be caused by machining technology.
More dimensionally stable
The customer experienced a more dimensionally stable part when switching from machining to powder metal. The machining technology caused stress in the material that required pre-treatment and further machining before hardening to secure that it would not cause the part to twist. In this case, the powder technology ensured that it was possible to achieve the required flatness tolerance necessary for the part’s function. When producing parts in powder metal, the part can usually be made from the sizes of the mould, thus avoiding subsequent machining.
If you would like to know more about powder metal technology and how benefit your business, please contact our sales team here for a no obligation discussion.