Binder-Treated Premixes
ANCORBOND™ processing was the first commercial chemically bonded premix introduced in the ferrous Powder Metallurgy industry. ANCORBOND provides superior powder flow with reduced additive segregation, enabling greater depths of fill during compaction and the potential for higher compaction rates because of the enhanced flow. The greater alloying homogeneity of the powder premix offers reduced dimensional variation after sintering because of the diminished alloy segregation within any given lot. Continuous improvements to ANCORBOND processing yielded higher part densities and an ability to "chemically bond" greater concentrations of graphite and other fine particle additions.
Continuous improvement of ANCORBOND processing led to the development of enhanced lubricants enabling higher green part densities through the use of warm compaction or warm die compaction. Warm compaction utilizes compaction dies heated up to ~190 °C with heated powder to ~160°C. This combination of heated dies and heated powder offer high green and sintered densities with good green strength with minimal restrictions on part size and geometry. Hoeganaes Corporation offers both ANCORDENSE™ and ANCORDENSE 450™ as premixing options for heated die & powder opportunities. In addition to the heated die and powder option, Hoeganaes offers a die heat only premix alternative. The material referred to as AncorMax®200 utilizes dies heated to ~95 °C with no powder preheat. Benefits of this material include enhanced powder flow and higher part densities without the need to preheat both the die and powder. Certain limitations regarding part size and geometry exist; however, this premix alternative has proven successful in numerous applications.