DIRA-GREEN

Enable the powder metallurgy process to expand to new markets with more reliable parts and lower manufacturing costs through the inspection of green parts

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Powder metallurgy is the major manufacturing route for a wide range of industrial parts which are produced by cold pressing powder in a die and sintering the resulting green body in a furnace. The design of a tool, set for a new product, is made with a trial-and-error procedure that generates surplus costs and delays. The optimization of the process is time consuming, due to the lack of fast and systematic system instruments and procedures for the inspection of the material. A major concern in powder metallurgy relies on the unpredictable formation of defects on the parts. While shrinking, internal defects are hard to detect. When the applied pressure is increased, the powder movement gets restricted and shearing can occur unless the magnitude and the direction of the pressure are properly coordinated. Today there is no reliable method able to inspect parts and detect local defects in green state powder metallurgy parts. Test inspection systems have been demonstrated inaccurate and often expensive for being introduced in the industry. The widespread use of powder metallurgy parts instead of parts produced by other competing technologies is often hindered by the impossibility to ensure the absence of defects in powder metallurgy parts. A new inspection tool based on digital radiography technology will be developed for the improved assessment of green parts and enable the powder metallurgy process to expand to new markets with more reliable parts and lower manufacturing costs, which will prove affordable for SME’s. Such tool will reduce the production costs and will decrease the amount of powder used to generate the same number of parts, owing the fact that the powder of the rejected parts can be re-used. With this technology, it will be possible to detect surface and sub-surface flaws. The whole system will be designed in such a way that it will be suitable for intensive industrial operation.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Powder metallurgy (PM) is used to manufacture a wide range of parts in numerous sectors. Novel in-line inspection technology will enable EU manufacturers to decrease costs while enhancing quality to access new markets.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

PM relies on cold compaction of metal powders in a mould or die, followed by sintering or heating at low temperature. PM is considered greener than many other processes requiring extreme conditions and higher energy consumption. In addition, the environmentally friendly processing leads to cost effectiveness, further improved by fewer process steps and material utilisation. However, compacting can produce porosity and microstructural cracks. European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are having difficulties staying competitive in the face of increasingly stringent technical specifications required by the aerospace and medical industries. EU-funded scientists working on the project http://www.diragreen.eu/ (DIRA-GREEN) are developing much-needed non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques for inspection of compacted parts. Researchers focused on the use of digital radiography (DR) to generate a density map for each component, indicating the size and location of surface and sub-surface defects. During the first 15 months of the 3-year project, the team completed the first 3 of the 5 planned work packages. Following an in-depth market survey and literature analysis, scientist elaborated a detailed system specification. They characterised numerous parts and defects from the PM industry, creating a reference database of possible failures and common defects as well as sample parts for testing the final system. Based on analysis of defects and simulations, researchers specified and purchased the DR equipment and designed the enclosure. Work is currently in progress to manufacture the system that will manipulate the parts to be inspected. In addition, the controlling software has been developed and will be optimised upon integration with a graphical user interface. Major emphasis is put on dissemination, and scientists used the first reporting period to prepare a preliminary business plan.

The DIRA-GREEN system's exploitation of the use of DR for NDT of compacted parts produced during the PM process will minimise the incidence of porosities and microstructural cracks. The EU PM industry and its many SMEs will substantially increase their competitiveness through lower production costs, higher product qualities and tapping previously inaccessible markets.