Abstract
Fluctuating raw material prices requires a judicious selection of materials and processing to optimize economic benefits in making powder metallurgical parts. Molybdenum is a powerful alloying element in powder metallurgy. 0.85 % and 1.5 % Molybdenum prealloyed powder has been used successfully for number of higher performance applications where hardenability is an important factor. A 0.3 % Mo prealloyed powder introduced recently offers even better choice when part sizes used in PM industry is considered. For example 0.3 % Mo prealloyed powder (Ancorsteel 30HP) in heat-treated condition can match the performance of 0.85 % Mo prealloyed (Ancorsteel 85HP) powder.
For a higher hardenability requirements a prealloyed material Fe-0.9Mo-0.5Ni-0.4Mn developed offer good opportunity to develop correct microstructure for the desired application. This material can be used in sinterhardened or heat-treated applications.
