Designing and specifying parts for manufacturing by powder metallurgical pressing and sintering process is challenging. There are many factors that influence the end result encompassing the geometry of the part, the selection of sinter steel, how the part is pressed, sintered and treated.

The property values found in sinter steel material tables are nominal and may vary within wide ranges in the ready product depending on how it has been processed. It is therefore of utmost importance that the requirements on the part are successfully communicated to the manufacturer.

When sourcing a powder metallurgical part, often only the material the required density and possibly how it should be treated is stated on the drawing. Due to the strong influence on the properties by the process route and processing parameters, this may not suffice. Instead the starting point when making the specification should be the requirements.

This research project seek to establish concrete guidelines for finding the requirements on powder metallurgical parts in various applications and specifying them in an communicable way. This will ensure that important aspects are not overlooked in the design process. The customer can then be more confident that the part will be able to serve in the intended application, without any unexpected failures. The manufacturer will have a better chance to plan and run the process so that parts with the required properties are manufactured.