Abstract

An investigation was carried out on the possibility whether the ball-milling process of low energy could successfully improve the packing density and flowability for MIM application in W-20wt%Cu system. In this study, W-20wt%Cu powder mixture was prepared by ball-milling. W powder was not fractured by low mechanical impact energy used in the present work during the critical ball-milling time, but the ductile Cu powder was easily deformed to the 3 dimensional equiaxed shape, having the particle size similar to that of W powder. The ball-milled mixture of W-20wt%Cu powder had the more homogeneous distribution of each component and the higher amount of powder loading for molding than the simple mixture of W-Cu powder with an irregular shape and a different size. Accordingly, the MIM W(1.75)-20wt%Cu powder compacts were able to be sintered to the relative density of 99% by sintering at 1400°C for one hour.