When it comes to shaping for manufacturing metal parts, you have a number of options available to you. The method you may know the best is die casting, but it’s understandable to be curious about other options. An interesting alternative to die casting for metal parts manufacture is powdered metal. While die casting is appropriate for a wide range of metal manufacturing applications, it may be useful to know about the powdered metal process and its similarities and differences with die casting.

Die Casting and Powdered Metal Processes

You are probably familiar with the process of die casting. Molten metal is forced into a closed die in the shape of your parts. High pressure is applied to the metal as it cools. When it has fully cooled into the desired shape, the metal is removed and the parts cut away from the casting tree. This is a highly efficient and effective way of producing quality, consistently shaped parts, even if those parts have some complexity.

The powdered metal process has a few similarities with this method. In this form of metal part manufacture, you take premixed metal powder and compress it into a mold with a high-pressure press to produce what is called a compact. The compact is then heated in a sintering oven to a temperature just south of the metal’s melting point, which makes the compressed metal powder fuse together, producing the metal part which can then be finished and used.

Die Casting and Powdered Metal Similarities and Differences

Both die casting and powdered metal methods of metal shaping are very alloy friendly, well-suited to large product runs, provide precision and consistency and can be used to produce both simple and more complex parts. However, powdered metal products tend to be much thicker and heavier than die cast metal parts. On the plus side, the powdered metal process is better suited for ferrous metals and creates parts that are suitable for high operating temperatures. That being said, powdered metal molds tend to be costly and you can make complex parts more easily with die casting.

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