Fatigue data for PM steels: How the world’s largest PM part producer is facing data challenges
May 19, 2021
Buzzwords such as digitalisation, Industry 4.0 and the Digital Twin are often used when discussing the future of industry. Currently, industrial companies and research institutes can lack IT support for their material data and, even when available, it is often decentralised, stored in a vast number of spreadsheets or saved in various different data systems. This can make it nearly impossible to systematically process and analyse its properties.
As a result, only a limited number of employees with the correct working experience have full knowledge of materials used and where to find the material data needed. This knowledge is, therefore, inaccessible to most. This can become even more of a challenge if specific material data is used and organised by CAE-engineers and requested by salespersons, as both can have different key figures.
Without the proper organisation of data, knowledge might be lost, or avoidable double testing will seem necessary, resulting in extra costs. For all industries, well-structured material data can be the differentiator to outperform competitors.
Data on the material properties of Powder Metallurgy steels, in particular static and cyclic strength data, is crucial for end-users to have confidence in the production of highly loaded applications. Access to such data also enables the effective use of commercial fatigue simulation software.
GKN Sinter Metals Engineering GmbH, the world’s largest producer of structural PM components, has grappled with the multiple challenges associated with generating, storing and retrieving such data.
In the Spring 2021 issue of Powder Metallurgy Review (Vol. 10 No. 1), Markus Schneider, Robert Maassen, Dennis Wawoczny and Christos Radis of GKN Sinter Metals Engineering GmbH, share their insight into this ongoing challenge.
This article, along with the full magazine, is available to read in full online using the embedded browser above or to download as a pdf.