Investigation of machinability of iron based metal matrix composite (MMC) powder metallurgy parts

One of the advantages of powder metallurgy technology is that we may produce the final geometry of the required part saving considerable time and cost. However there are several applications that require parts need additional machining for example when the product contains threads, cross bore or slots. In these cases cutting of the hard and porous material may causes difficulties in manufacturing. The aim of the introduced research is the experimental investigation of the machinability of the iron based MMC powder metallurgy parts, determining the favourable composition of the powder and advantageous process parameters regarding the properties of the machinability. The research try to answer to the challenge of the poorly defined expression: machinability, and after defining the features and methods of the evaluation we develop advises for the proper technology parameters.