Abstract
On the basis of increasing problems of energy availability and costs, the energy requirements for producing structural components by various possible production processes have been estimated. Also the energy requirements in raw material preparation (iron powders, cast iron, construction steels) have been taken into account. The production techniques considered are cold forming, hot forming (or closed die forging), and machining (turning, reaming, milling). For each kind of machining and for various materials the energy requirements corresponding to removal of unit weight or unit volume have been calculated. The comprehensive comparison between PM processes and other production processes has been made considering variable relative amounts of swarfs. The data show that the sintered components are generally less energy consuming than the equivalent ones produced by competitive production techniques. This favourable position of PM can be improved still more by increasing the efficiency of present sintering furnaces. Also the efficiencies of various processes and operations have been estimated, both on a thermodynamic and technological basis. Only small improvements appear to be possible for powder production processes whereas a great many possibilities are open for improving PM furnaces. PM/0237
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