Sintering study of injection molded W-8%Ni-2%Cu compacts from mixed powders by thermoanalytical techniques

Heavy alloy parts from W-8%Ni-2%Cu powder mix were fabricated by MIM using a feedstock with 50 vol.% binder. The binder was removed by solvent de-binding followed by thermal de-binding. Sintering of the heavy alloy brown parts was investigated by employing various thermoanalytical techniques such as DIL, TGA and DTA up to 1460 °C. During sintering, the evolved gases were analyzed in a mass spectrometer which was coupled to the dilatometer. Thermal analysis helps to understand the sintering process regarding phase transformation, melting of alloy matrix and chemical reactions. From these thermoanalytical measurements, a kinetic analysis was made. High sintered density (> 99%) and fine-grained homogeneous microstructures were achieved by rate controlled sintering as confirmed by metallographic analysis.