Thermo-optical-measurement devices for powder metallurgical applications

Our thermo-optical measurement device with atmospheric control (TOM-AC) allows to follow changes in the shapes of samples (up to 40mm in diameter) with an accuracy of about 0.5 micron by contact-less measurements. Samples of arbitrary shape can be monitored by TOM-AC during the heat treatment at chosen temperatures and atmospheres. Its contour - and thus dimensional changes - are detected by a sophisticated algorithm. Applications range from determining the shrinkage or shape distortion of powder metallurgical products to measuring the wetting angle of melts. Atmospheric control, i.e. controlling and changing the gas atmosphere (e.g. inert gas / reducing gas at different pressures or vacuum) is realized during the heat treatment via a specific code on standard PCs. We will present examples for different application: shrinkage curves for free and load sintering for powder metallurgical products of different shapes and experiments following the de-binding and melting process.