- 2004 Grand Prize
- Automotive Ferrous category
- Cost-Saving fine pitch matching tooth geometry
- Soft Magnetic Phosphorous Iron
A Powder Metallurgy Soft Magnetic clutch gear assembly, consisting of four parts – an armature, rotor blank, bearing and pinion gear won the 2004 MPIF Design of Excellence GRAND Prize in the ferrous category for automatic sliding minivan doors and opening and closing tailgates. The assembly operates in a motor drive and is made from a PM Phosphorous Iron material. The parts have a density of 7.0 g/cm3, ultimate tensile strength of 45,000 psi and a yield strength of 32,000 psi. The parts are made to a net shape, except for the rotor which requires a turning operation on the hub. Innovative tooling design and Six Sigma process control during Compacting and Sintering provide the required density in the parts to satisfy magnetic and strength properties of the rotor. The Conventional Press & Sinter Powder Metallurgy technology not only produced a “pure” material free of tramp elements such as oxygen, nitrogen and carbon but provided Cost savings of 40% when compared to traditional manufacturing methods such as EDM or Traditional machining.
