Next generation powder compaction process

Powder Compaction Process (PCP) is a production method commonly used in the manufacturing industry today. Several analysis methods for powder compaction process are developed and being used in order to minimize costly experiments, to produce complicated near-net shape and to optimize serial production of details. This thesis has dealt with Finite Element (FE) simulation of the cold compaction process. The reason for simulating cold compaction is to predict relative density distribution in the compact for various powder fill and punch motion options. An evaluation of a number of commercial FE codes has been carried out. The MSC Marc program, which incorporates the Shima Model, has been used for compaction of Fe-based metal powders. The relative density distributions of the pressure models and the displacement models of the cylindrical and the stepped cylindrical geometries obtained via FE simulation in this research are encouraging that agree well with observations made in practice.