Abstract
Prevention of cracks during compaction is one of the most important quality issues in the PM industry. Therefore, various types of the mechanisms of crack formation have been studied both in the academic and the practical areas. However, the mechanism of the formation of the micro crack, which is often formed on the boss near the corner of a step and not at the corner of a step, has not been clarified. In this study, a powder mix of Fe-Cu-C system was compacted with a stepped die, to investigate the influence of the powder compact geometry on the micro crack formation. The influence of the powder compact geometry on micro crack formation is discussed from the view points of the powder compaction experiment and FEM analysis.
