PM Review Summer 2018 by Inovar Communications

Metal Powder Industries Federation

Fig. 9 The MPIF showcases the capability of Powder Metallurgy technology through its annual PM Design Excellence Awards could have for supplying engineers to our industry.” Additionally, CPMT has provided over $500,000 to 147 students since 2000, through its Clayton Family Foundation, Howard I Sanderow Endowment, North American Höganäs Co., Ametek, Inc., Western Sintering and University of Idaho scholarships. The MPIF also offers reduced registration fees for POWDERMET to encourage its members to bring their up-and-coming engineers to the conference, to encourage them to network and be a part of the technology transfer. “I am encouraged when I hear from young engineers that they thought they could get everything that they needed from the internet, but have found that face-to-face meetings have so much more value. We are also seeing new, younger faces at our standards meetings, on our technical programme committees, and as speakers at our conferences. I think, ultimately, we will find the balance of face-to-face and virtual meetings. We also continually update our family of websites to keep the information current.”

Powder Metallurgy Review

Educational activities The MPIF has offered its Basic PM Short Course since 1965 and continues to meet the needs of the PM industry by holding several educational events each year. The Basic PM Short Course is said to be ideal for new employees, those with new assignments, or simply as a refresher course. The course will mark its 54th year in 2018; “quite a run when you consider an estimated 3,500 people have taken the course over the years,” added Adams. The MPIF rotates its PM Compacting/Tooling and Sintering seminars each year, as they provide a strong base of knowledge for the attendees. Based on industry need, it usually adds one additional seminar per year, such as the recent Machinability and PostSintering seminars. A PIM Tutorial is also run annually, instructed by Professor Emeritus Randall German, FAPMI, and is extremely well received by the attendees. One other area of great concern that the MPIF has helped address is the lack of metallurgists in the

Summer 2018

industry. “Twenty years ago, nearly every PM parts maker had a staff metallurgist. Over the years, as people retired or - in many cases were victims of layoffs, the number of staff metallurgists became almost non-existent.” When parts makers started to rely on external sources, such as their powder suppliers to determine problems with their parts, the MPIF, through its Technical Board, developed its ‘Guide to PM Microstructures’ as a reference for comparison purposes to aid in the interpretation of PM microstructures. One of the APMI member benefits is the opportunity to take three e-learning courses (Course 101: Welcome to the World of PM; Course 102: Introduction to Compacting and Primary Press Functions; Course 103: Introduction to Sintering Fundamentals and Furnace Design) with a downloadable certificate of completion. This underutilised opportunity could help some individuals and companies meet their annual education requirements. Promoting metal powder technology Whilst the MPIF’s PM Showcases have certainly helped gain exposure to engineers within automotive companies, its annual Design Excellence Awards (DEA) competition is seen as a gateway to other industries. Each year, awards are presented in categories that not only champion automotive applications, but also those components found in hand tools, hardware, aerospace, military, medical and more (Fig. 9). The federation also supports industry promotion through its Industry Development Board (IDB). The IDB has an annual budget of over $225,000 to support the marketing of the PM industry. In addition to the PM Showcases and DEA activities, it utilises electronic and print advertising, videos, social media and the PickPM.com website to promote the industry.