Sintered Steel Parts for Automobile Weight Reduction  (1,11MB)
Michael Krehl and Günter Rau
forum ThyssenKrupp, 1999

Declining raw material deposits worldwide and increasing environmental regulation make it necessary to husband our resources economically. This applies both to industry and to private households, and especially to mass products like cars. Alongside alternative fuels and fuel cells, a major talking point is the 3-liter car (fuel consumption 3 liters per 100 kilometers). To achieve this goal, weight reduction is essential, along with advances in engine and transmission management. Not only static vehicle components such as the body are important in terms of weight reduction. Reducing the weight of moving parts in engines and transmissions is also important in increasing efficiency and lowering fuel consumption. Increasingly, ferrous powder metallurgy (PM) components (sintered steel parts) are being used in car manufacture, together with lightweight materials such as titanium, magnesium, aluminium and advanced plastics.