Powdered Metals
There are many methods of producing metal into powder. This is a technology that is becoming more common today. Some high strength, high temperature alloys are made from powder. After rolling into a strip, the powder is put through a furnace and brought up to a eutectic temperature where the chemical reaction causes the elements to mix without melting. This is why powdered metal technology can produce any type of alloy from any metal. It is impossible to mix aluminum with chrome because of the vast change in melting temperatures, but it can be done with powder. High strength gears today are made from powdered metal. Certain alloys are very difficult to mix because they do not form a chemical reaction at the melting point and can have a wide variety of melting points. As an example, aircraft landing gears can be very strong, but very light because the aluminum is mixed with chrome and other elements.
The powder is mixed mechanically and taken up to a eutectic temperature where a chemical reaction between the metals can occur without making the metal into a liquid. Aluminum and chrome, as an example, form a chemical reaction and mix into a process called a sintering furnace. The part is then rolled or forged to improve its grain structure and fully tested to make a high quality part. This is very common when making parts such as gears and screw machine parts. The benefit of powdered metal is the fact that it is put into a mold, compressed, and sintered before it reaches its liquid state. This makes a very strong alloy. A considerable amount of scrap is eliminated with this process, as the parts can be molded and forged accurately to size. Titanium can be made into powder and rolled into strip to make into sheet. The sheet can be very light gauge and strong as used in bullet proof vests. In fact, thin strip can be made from powdered metal without reducing from a slab or heavy gauge coils. Many high temperature alloys are made from powdered metals.
