FMS Corporation was honored with two Powder Metal Design Excellenceawards
at the 2018 Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) annual conference recently held in San Antonio, Texas. The awards are given to Powder Metallurgy (PM) manufacturers whose entry demonstrates an outstanding example of PMs advantages and diversity. The awards recognize companies that push the design envelope by pioneering new applications that showcase the benefits of the PM fabrication process.
Grand Prize, Hand Tools/Recreation
The Grand Prize in the Hand Tools/Recreation category was won by FMS Corporation for three sinter-hardened steel parts made for Graco, Inc. The assembly features an eccentric gear, a combination gear, and a connecting rod that incorporates a bronze bearing. The assembly drives a piston pump within a high-pressure paint sprayer. The complex eccentric gear, which is compacted using cored holes on one side to balance the moment of inertia around the center shaft, features AGMA Class 6 gear quality. The combination gear is complex as well, combining a helical gear and a spur gear. The bronze bearing is compacted, sintered and coined in place inside the connecting rod, then oil impregnated. The combination gear and connecting rod are compacted completely net shape.
Award of Distinction, Hardware/Appliance
FMS Corporation also won a 2018 MPIF Award of Distinction in the Hardware & Appliance category. The award was given for a stainless-steel spindle assembly made for a major domestic manufacturer of kitchen and bath fixtures. The spindle is used in a shower faucet assembly, linking the shower handle to the hot and cold water mixing valve. The finished part is actually a two-part assembly where the gear and spindle are first molded and sintered separately, then assembled using automated equipment and sintered again to bond the two parts together.
About the Metal Powder Industries Federation
Metal Powder Industries Federation is the North American trade association formed by the powder metallurgy industry to advance the interests of the metal powder producing and consuming industries and provides a single point of reference for all MPIF member companies. www.mpif.org