In the typical sintering step, the green compact is placed on a wide-mesh belt and slowly moved through a controlled atmosphere furnace. The parts are heated to below the melting point of the base metal, held at the sintering temperature, and then cooled.
Basically a solid state process, sintering transforms compacted mechanical bonds between the powder particles to metallurgical bonds. This provides the P/M part's primary functional properties.
P/M parts are generally ready for use after sintering. However, to provide special properties, the parts can be repressed, impregnated, machined, tumbled, plated, heat treated, or welded.
