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Sintered Bronze Products

What is sintered bronze? Rigid, temperature resistant, and strong, sintered bronze products and parts are formed through the process of sintering, or powder metallurgy.

As a metal-forming process, powder metallurgy occurs by heating compacted metal powders to just beneath their melting points. The process has existed for over a hundred years but has only become recognized widely as a superior method for producing high-quality parts during the last quarter century. Powder metallurgy offers a variety of advantages over other types of metal-forming technology, including metal casting and forging. The powder metallurgy process is an excellent one for material utilization, shape complexity, and the dimensional control of near-net shape. It is a sustainable process, and it is also a recognized green technology.

Powdered metal parts have a strong and proven record demonstrating excellent wear resistance and an unexcelled long lifespan. Featuring closer tolerances and offering the ability to be made self-lubricating through oil impregnation, these powder metal parts provide smoother action, self-dampening features, and the metal assures a quiet operation.

The powder metallurgy process can use a number of different metals in the fabrication of powdered metal parts including:

  • Aluminum
  • Copper
  • Nickel
  • Brass
  • Steel
  • Stainless Steel
  • Titanium
Our SAE 841 Sintered Bronze parts are available as:
  • Sintered Bronze (SAE 841) Solid Bar
  • Sintered Bronze (SAE 841) Cored Bar
  • Sintered Bronze (SAE 841 Flange Bushings
  • Sintered Bronze (SAE 841) Thrust Washer
  • Sintered Bronze (SAE 841) Plate













Steps in Powder Metallurgy

The process of powder metallurgy involves three basic steps:

    First, the metal, in this case, bronze or bronze alloy, is made into a powdered form. Powdering can be achieved by:
    • Grinding
    • Chemical decomposition
    • Atomization - In this process, the molten metal is separated into small droplets. It is frozen quickly, before the drops contact each other or a solid surface. Usually, a thin stream of molten metal is disintegrated through the impact of high-energy gas or liquid jets.
The metallic powder is then poured into a die or mold cavity and, at room temperature, compacted under great pressure to adhere the particles.

Sintering

Next, the metal part is then inserted into a furnace where the extreme heat fuses the metal particles together to form a rigid, high-strength, and porous component. This part of the process, called sintering, highlights the significant sintered bronze material's properties.

The sintered bronze products and parts have significant porosity. This makes the powder metal products especially useful in lubricating applications. Because of this, bearings and wear plates are often fabricated from sintered bronze.

Powdered metal offers a great deal of both strength and flexibility. And they also offer a cost effective production process, one that includes oil impregnation or permanent lubrication.

Applicable Specifications for Sintered Bronze

These are some of the applicable sintered bronze specifications:
  • ASTM - B438, Grade 1, Type II
  • MPIF - CT-1000-K26
  • Military - MIL-B-5687D, Type I, Grade I (this spec only applies to Bushings & Washers. It must be requested at the time of quotation. Call us for further information.

Typical Uses of Sintered Bronze

Among the typical uses of sintered bronze products are heavy industry, military, appliances, automobiles, and as common bearings or bushings.

Sintered bronze is utilized in primarily in these ways:
  • As machine components, self-lubricating pump parts, and turbine blades for heavy industry
  • For reliable weapons, aircrafts, and exotic materials used in space vehicles for the military
  • As home appliances, shock absorbers for automobiles, bearings/bushings

Sintered bronze parts can be produced with consistent properties and sizes in large quantities

Learn More About Sintered Bronze from Atlas Bronze

If you’re interested in learning more about our sintered bronze material and products, or have any metal needs, our skilled team of professionals at Atlas Bronze are here to help.

If you’re considering the right metal for your applications, our sales team is waiting to assist you. Contact us - our experts can get you started today, at 1-800-478-0887.