Abstract
Dimensional tolerance of P/M parts is improved by uniformly filling powders in a die cavity. In this study, the moving behavior of the powders filled into a rectangular die cavity during the pullback or shaking of a feed-shoe has been investigated using a newly devised visual apparatus. It is clarified that the powder behavior in the feedshoe movement during powder filling is divided into three regions; where the powders move as rolling, where the powders slide, and where the powders do not slide with the movement of the feed-shoe. As the width of the cavity becomes thinner, the powders are more difficult to move; therefore, the none-sliding region increases. When shaking of the feed-shoe is repeated, the moving distance of powders in a vertical direction becomes larger, and the filling density increases. However, the increasing moving distance of powders is greatly affected by the width of the die cavity.
