Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 354±358

Effect of die wall lubrication on warm compaction

powder metallurgy
Y.Y. Li*, T.L. Ngai, D.T. Zhang, Y. Long, W. Xia
Mechatronic Engineering Department, South China University of Technology, 510640 Guangzhou, PR China

Abstract

Die wall lubrication was applied on warm compaction powder metallurgy in the hope to reduce the concentration level of the admixed
lubricant, since lubricant is harmful to the mechanical properties of the sintered material. Iron-based samples were prepared by die wall
lubricated warm compaction at 135 and 175 8C, using polytetra¯uoroethylene (PTFE) emulsion as the die wall lubricant. Compacting
pressures of 700 and 550 MPa were used. An admixed lubricant concentration ranging from 0 to 0.6 wt.% was used in this study. The results
show that in addition to a decrease in ejection forces, the green density of the compacts increased linearly with the decrease in the admixed
lubricant content. The mechanical properties of the sintered compacts increase sharply when the admixed lubricant concentration was reduced
to 0.125 wt.% or less. No scoring was observed in all of the experiments.
# 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Warm compaction; Die wall lubrication; Powder metallurgy

1. Introduction
It is well known that increasing the density is the best way
to increase the performance of powder metallurgy (P/M)
parts. Conventional P/M processing can produce iron-based
parts with a density of less than 7.1 g/cm3 (a relative density
of approximately 90%). Their mechanical properties are
substantially less than those of their full density counterpart.
Warm compaction is a low cost and simple process that can
obtain high relative density P/M parts [1±3]. With minor
modi®cation of the conventional equipment and an approxi-
mately 20% increase over the cost of conventional cold
compaction, a green compact density of 7.5 g/cm3 can be
obtained by single pressing. The only difference between
warm compaction and conventional compaction is that the
powder has to be treated with a special lubricant, after which
the powder is raised to the pre®xed temperature and pressed
in the die, whilst maintaining the warm compaction tem-
perature.
Industrialization of the technique matured in the mid-
1990s. The success of the warm compaction technique relied
on the correct use of a special lubricant; however, it is well
known that there is a dilemma in using lubricant. Lubricants
are essential for the die compaction of metal powders to
*
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: ‡86-20-8711-2948.
E-mail address: mehjli@scut.edu.cn (Y.Y. Li).
overcome friction and avoid scoring. On the other hand, the
presence of lubricant may reduce the sintered density and
decrease the mechanical properties of the compact. Practi-
cally no lubricant can burn off completely during sintering,
leaving ashes inside the compact, thereby, hinder the diffu-
sion process during sintering. At the same time, gas pressure
generated by the dissociation or evaporation of the lubricant
during the pre-sintering or sintering stage may create more
voids in the compact and reduce the compact's dimension
stability. The vaporized lubricant is harmful to the quality of
the sintered compacts and to the furnace. The admixed
lubricant also reduces the ¯ow rate of powder and prolongs
the compaction cycle time. Therefore, elimination of
admixed lubricant in metal powder blends has long been
a dream for the P/M industry.
Admixed lubricant is important when compacting metal
powders in a die, since it reduce inter-particle friction,
particle±die wall friction and ejection force. As pointed
out by many workers [4,5], the most important role for
lubricant is to overcome die wall friction rather than inter-
particle friction. Several researchers [6±10] have investi-
gated die wall lubrication as an alternative to admixed
lubricant in metal powders and some effort has been made
towards systems that can provide die wall lubrication. Ball
et al. [10] applied dry powder lubricant on the die wall using
a tribostatic spray gun and this system was successfully
marketed in 1996 [11]. The aim of the present work was to

0924-0136/02/$ ± see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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 Y.Y. Li et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 354±358
Table 1
Composition of the mixed powders in wt.%
Sample Cu Ni Mo Si Mn Graphite Fe Lubricant
A 2.0 2.0 1.0 ± ± 1.0 Balance 0.0±0.6
B ± 2.0 0.4 0.45 0.6 0.4 Balance 0.5
C 2.0 2.0 1.0 ± ± 1.0 Balance 0.6
study the effect of die wall lubrication on warm compaction
P/M in hope of reducing the concentration level of admixed
lubricant.
2. Experimental work
The chemical compositions of samples A±C is listed in
Table 1. The powders were prepared by mixing Atomet 1001
atomized iron powder, which was produced by Quebec
Metal Powders, Canada, with other alloying elemental
powders and a special lubricant. The particle size of the
iron powder was 147 mm. Carbonyl nickel with a size of
5 mm was used. The particle size of the other elemental
powders were 74 mm. The mixing time was 90 min. The
admixed lubricant concentration used in this study ranged
from 0 to 0.6 wt.%.
The pre-heated mix powders were pressed into standard
tensile specimens (ISO 2740-1973) in a steel mold, which
was heated to a temperature of 135 and 175  2 8C. Poly-
tetra¯uoroethylene (PTFE) emulsion was brushed on to the
die wall as the die wall lubricant. Compacting pressures of
700 and 550 MPa were used. Samples A and B were
degassed at 600 8C for 1.5 h in the pre-heating chamber
of a pusher type furnace protected by a reducing hydrogen±
nitrogen atmosphere produced by an ammonia dissociator.
Sintering was carried out at temperatures of 1200 and
1250 8C for 1.5 h in the sintering chamber, followed by
holding at 850 8C in the cooling chamber for 1 h and
subsequent cooling to room temperature. A sintering tem-
perature (TS) of 1200 8C was used for sample A, whilst for
sample B sintering temperatures of 1200 and 1250 8C were
used. The heat-treatment schedule for sample A was anneal-
ing at 823 8C for 30 min in N2, quenching in oil, then
annealing at 600 8C for 2 h followed by quenching in water.
The green density (rG), sintered density (rS), tensile
strength (rb) and elongation percentage (d) were measured.
Densities were measured by the water displacement method.
A computer controlled universal tensile testing machine was
used to measure the ultimate tensile strength and elongation.
Sample C was for ejection force measurement. It was
cylindrical in shape, of 20 mm in diameter and 20 mm
length. Samples were warm compacted at 175 8C using
pressures of 550 and 700 MPa. For comparison purposes,
samples compacted with and without die wall lubrication
were prepared. Ejection forces were read from a gauge
equipped provided on the hydraulic press.
355
The results reported in this study are the average of at least
three samples.
3. Results
Fig. 1 shows the relationship between the density of
sample A and the admixed lubricant concentration for both
die wall lubricated and non-die wall lubricated warm com-
paction using a compaction pressure of 700 MPa and a
compaction temperature of 135 and 175 8C. In the admixed
lubricant concentration range of 0±0.6 wt.%, both the green
and sintered densities increase linearly with decrease in
lubricant concentration for samples compacted at 135 and
175 8C with die wall lubrication. Compared with non-die
wall lubricated samples, the die wall lubricated samples
have higher densities. The decrease in sintered density
compared to the green densities is almost constant and
independent of the lubricant concentration.
Figs. 2 and 3 show the tensile strength and elongation,
respectively, as function of the admixed lubricant concen-
tration for sintered and heat-treated sample A. Samples were
prepared by die wall lubricated warm compaction using a
compaction pressure of 700 MPa and a compaction tem-
perature of 135 8C. Both the tensile strength and elongation
of as-sintered and heat-treated samples show a steady
increase as the admixed lubricant concentration is
decreased, with a sharp increase when the lubricant con-
centration reached 0.125 wt.%.
Table 2 lists experimental results for sample B, which was
warm compacted at 175 8C using a pressure of 550 MPa.
These results are consistent with those obtained for sample
A. Both the green density and mechanical properties
obtained by warm compaction with die wall lubrication
have a higher values when compared with those obtained
by warm compaction without die wall lubrication, except
for samples sintered at 1250 8C. For sample sintered at
1250 8C, the densities and mechanical properties obtained
by die wall lubricated warm compaction are slightly lower
Fig. 1. Relationship between density and lubricant concentration for
sample A warm compacted at 700 MPa.
356 Y.Y. Li et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 354±358

scoring was observed in all experiments, even for samples

containing no admixed lubricant.

4. Discussion

Friction between the compact and the die wall increases

the ejection force. If the admixed lubricant is too low in
content, it is not suf®cient to reduce the ejection force to an
acceptable level. If there is too much lubricant, the density
and mechanical properties of the sintered compact will be
reduced. Samples with two different compositions were
Fig. 2. Relationship between tensile strength and lubricant concentration prepared to examine the effect of die wall lubrication on
for sample A compacted at 135 8C and 700 MPa with die wall lubrication. warm compaction in the hope to reduce the lubricant content
in the powder. Sample A contains 1 wt.% of graphite and
sample B contains 0.4 wt.% of graphite. As is known,
Table 2 graphite is an effective solid lubricant; its concentration
Results on sample B warm compacted at 175 8C and 550 MPa in the powder compact will affect the frictional condition
Die wall TS (8C) rG rS sb d (%) during the compaction. Results obtained from samples A
lubrication (g/cm3) (g/cm3) (MPa) and B are shown in Figs. 1±3 and Table 2, showing that die
No ± 7.255 ± ± ± wall lubricated warm compaction can produce compacts
Yes ± 7.265 ± ± ± with higher density and better mechanical properties at all
No 1200 ± 7.299 464 4.2 compaction temperatures and admixed lubricant concentra-
Yes 1200 ± 7.303 495 4.6 tions used in this study. This result is expected, since PTFE
No 1250 ± 7.348 598 4.3
has a very low friction coef®cient and, as mentioned earlier,
Yes 1250 ± 7.340 575 4.4
the major friction problem is between the powder and the die
wall, PTFE on the die wall reduce a great portion of the
friction during compaction and thus increase the effective
or approximately the same when compared with those pressure on the powder. As shown in Fig. 1, the density of
obtained by warm compaction without die wall lubrication. warm compacted samples with die wall lubrication increases
The ejection force data in this study was read from the linearly with the decrease in admixed lubricant concentra-
gauge provided in the hydraulic press, but this gauge was not tion, no matter whether it was compacted at 135 or 175 8C.
suf®ciently accurate for quantitative analysis. All the data The presence of admixed lubricant occupied spaces in the
indicated that samples with die wall lubrication show lower compact at the expense of the relatively heavier metal
ejection forces. At a compaction pressure of 700 MPa the powders and unavoidably reduces the green density of the
ejection force for the die wall lubricated sample was compact. Inter-particle friction can be reduced by admixed
approximately 60% of that of the non-die wall lubricated lubricant and therefore is bene®cial to the densi®cation of
sample. At a compaction pressure of 550 MPa the ejection the powder compacts and provides compacts of better
force for the die wall lubricated sample was approximately quality. For sample contains no admixed lubricant, the
65% of that for the non-die wall lubricated sample. No inter-particle friction should reduce the green density to
some extent. The linearity in Fig. 1 did not show this
decrease in density at low internal lubricant concentration
level. The linearity indicated that the lubricant volume factor
is one of the dominant contributions to the increase in
density. The consistent decrease in densities after sintering
is independent of the admixed lubricant concentration. This
is a re¯ection of the lubricant easily ®nding its way to escape
from out of the compact through inter-connected voids. If
the lubricant is in excess, or of green density is high enough
that the compact contains a considerable amount of closed
pores, or if the heating rate is too fast, swelling of the
compact may occur as the vaporized lubricant tries to escape
from the part. The 0.6 wt.% of admixed lubricant used in this
study did not cause the swelling of the compact that due to
Fig. 3. Relationship between elongation and lubricant concentration for the rapid build up of gas pressure that is generated by the
sample A compacted at 135 8C and 700 MPa with die wall lubrication. vaporized lubricant. From Figs. 2 and 3, it can be seen that
 Y.Y. Li et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 354±358
mechanical properties increase sharply when the admixed
lubricant concentration is reduced to 0.125 wt.% or less. The
better mechanical properties of warm compacted samples
with die wall lubrication when compared with those without
die wall lubrication is mainly due to the increase in density
and, for sample containing no admixed lubricant, to the
clean inter-granular boundaries, whilst the better inter-diffu-
sion during the sintering is also a factor contributing to high
mechanical properties. This became obvious from the elon-
gation data, since it is very sensitive to porosity.
Bene®ts, such as increase in green density and increase in
tensile strength, achieved by die wall lubricated warm
compaction, could be overwhelmed by the high temperature
sintering since high temperature sintering is an effective way
for high-density P/M material fabrication. As shown in
Table 2 the mechanical properties of sample B sintered at
1250 8C obtained by warm compaction with die wall lubri-
cation are slightly lower or approximately the same when
compared with those obtained by warm compaction without
die wall lubrication. Although high temperature sintering is
a simple way for high-density parts fabrication, it is not
generally used because the dimensional stability of the parts
deteriorates rapidly as the sintering temperature increases.
Further, the equipment cost and processing cost for high
temperature sintering are much greater. Nevertheless, the
higher green density usually gives higher green strength,
therefore higher green density is always preferred.
Degoix et al. [12] investigated the effect of lubrication
mode and compaction temperature on the properties of Fe±
2Ni±2Cu±0.85Mo±0.8C. Their result did not agree well with
the present result. They used 0.25 wt.% PTFE as lubricant in
three different ways: (1) dry admixed to the powder; (2) die
wall lubricated by PTFE±alcohol suspension without
admixed lubricant; (3) wet mixed using PTFE±alcohol sus-
pension. Samples were prepared by compacting the powders
with a pressure of 690 MPa at room temperature and at
150 8C. The green compacts were sintered at 1300 8C for
50 min. It was found that the wet mixed lubricant gave the
worse results in density and strength, and the dry admixed
lubricant gave the highest sintered density and strength, and
the lowest ejection forces, under their experimental condi-
tions. Die wall lubricated warm compaction at 150 8C gave
the highest green density but their sintering temperature was
1300 8C, which was high enough for a high value of densi-
®cation which overwhelmed the high green density obtained
by die wall lubricated warm compaction. The greatest contra-
diction between the present results and their results are in
respect of the ejection forces. They found that die wall
lubricated warm compaction needed a greater ejection force,
their results showing that die wall lubricated warm compac-
tion needed an ejection force of 40.1 kN instead of 34.8 kN
for admixed lubrication, whereas the present data indicate that
the ejection force for the die wall lubricated sample was
approximately 60% of that for the non-die wall lubricated
sample. The reason for this is that the way that they apply the
die wall lubricant by using PTFE±alcohol suspension is not
357
effective. There is no certainly PTFE adhering to the die wall.
In the present case, PTFE emulsion was used, a ®lm of PTFE
remaining to be seen on the die wall.
The present results indicated that under the experimental
condition used in this study, no matter at which compaction
pressure, compaction temperature, graphite and lubricant
contents in the powder, the die wall lubricated warm com-
paction gives the highest green density and lowest ejection
force. This study shows that the combination of die wall
lubrication with warm compaction can effectively reduce the
admixed lubricant concentration to obtain compacts with
better quality, without scoring, during compaction.
5. Conclusions
In the lubricant concentration range from 0 to 0.6 wt.%
both green and sintered densities increase linearly with
decrease in admixed lubricant concentration for samples
compacted at 135 and 175 8C with die wall lubrication.
Compared with non-die wall lubricated samples, the die wall
lubricated samples have higher green densities. Both the
tensile strength and elongation of as-sintered and heat-
treated samples show a steady increase as the admixed
lubricant concentration is decreased and there is a sharp
increase when the lubricant concentration reaches at
0.125 wt.%. The bene®ts, such as increase in density and
increase in tensile strength, achieved by die wall lubricated
warm compaction could be neutralized by high temperature
sintering, since high temperature sintering is an effective
way for high-density P/M material fabrication.
Ejection force data indicated that samples with die wall
lubrication show lower ejection forces when compared with
samples without die wall lubrication. No scoring was
observed in all experiments, even for samples containing
no admixed lubricant. The present results indicated that
under the experimental condition used in this study, no
matter at which compaction pressure, compaction tempera-
ture, graphite and lubricant contents in the powder, die wall
lubricated warm compaction gives the highest green density
and lowest ejection force. It can be concluded that a com-
bination of die wall lubrication and warm compaction can
provide P/M products of higher density and better quality. It
is a feasible way to produce high performance P/M parts to
use a suitable die wall lubrication system.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Key Project No. 50135020), the
National Advanced Technology Research and Development
Project (863 Project No. 2001AA337010), the Ministry of
Education (Excellent Personnel for 21st Century Training
Project (2000) No. 1) and the Natural Science Foundation of
Guangdong Province (Research Group Project No. 003019).
358 Y.Y. Li et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 354±358
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