Sintering Metal Explained
Sintering is central to the process of creating great quality metal mesh. In fact, it’s so central that we actually include sintering as part of our name, Lawrence Sintered Metals. What does it mean to sinter metal, and how does the process of sintering metal create a strong metal mesh you can use for everything from keeping out bugs to protecting property and even creating amazing artwork?
Let us explain what sintering metal is, the process, its benefits, and the types of sintered metal meshes offered by us.
What Does Metal Sintering Mean?
Sintering is a process of bonding materials together into a solid mass using heat and/or pressure. Metal sintering refers to the sintering of metals, but plastics, ceramics, and some other materials can also be sintered. The word sintering is related to the English word cinder, and materials made by sintering are called sinters.
Process of Sintering Metal
Sintering does not melt the materials or liquefy them, but rather fuses them together at the atomic level. While it requires a very high sintering temperature, the temp does not have to reach such a high temperature as a metal’s melting point in order to work.
The process of sintering metal mesh involves fusing the touch points of the metal together. This makes the mesh incredibly strong. Instead of just having metal wires that are woven together, the metal parts are actually bonded together. This is why our woven metal mesh can be used to keep animals in their habitats or even to keep thieves out of a property.
Sintering is one of only a small handful of ways manufacturers can make products out of metals with high melting points. This reduces porosity in metals with high melting points, which can be great for sintered metal products that need to filter or hold back as much material as possible. Metal properties can change during sintering as a result of density changes, alloying, and heat treatments. These changes vary depending on the material and sintering techniques used.
Metal sintering often occurs with metallic powders. The movement of mass in the sintering process is a combination of reduced porosity by repacking, proceeded by material transport from evaporation and condensation from diffusion. The final stages see the atoms in the powder particles move to redistribute mass from the inside to the smooth outside, a phase which is driven by surface tension. For a mathematical look at the process of sintering metal, we can look at Young’s modulus En of sintered iron powder, En/E=(D/d)3.4 . Spark plasma sintering uses an electric field and external pressure to make ceramic or metallic powder compacts more dense.
Another type of sintering is liquid-state sintering, which is when at least one of the elements involved does enter a liquid state. Liquid-state sintering is necessary for creating tungsten carbide and cemented carbide. This is different from permanent liquid phase sintering, which instead uses an additive to the metal powder that melts before the matrix phase. The stages of liquid phase sintering are rearrangement, solution-precipitation (when atoms preferentially go into solution followed by precipitating in areas of lower chemical potential, similar to ground boundary diffusion in solid state sintering), and final densification.
Benefits of Sintering Metals
So, why do we sinter metals, anyway? Here are some of the benefits of sintering metals:
- Easy to form into woven mesh shapes for sintered metal meshes
- Unique manufacturing process that can’t be replicated with other techniques
- Produces very strong and durable products that won’t corrode or break easily
- Can be used to create a wide range of products like metal meshes that serve a variety of industrial needs
Sintered Metal Meshes from Lawrence Sintered Metals
Lawrence Sintered Metals offers many types of sintered metal meshes, including:
- 5-Layer Sintered Wire Mesh
- Sintered Wire Mesh with Perforated Metal
- HASTELLOY® C22
- 904L Stainless Steel Wire Mesh
- Sintered Square Weave Mesh
- Sintered Dutch Weave Mesh
Interested in seeing how strong sintered metal is? Give us a call and tell us about your project. Our representatives are standing by to help you choose the right metal mesh for your needs.
