What We Do

Solve performance related industrial problems by engineering “material solutions…..”

It is now an accepted fact in industry that the material performance requirements currently in demand by both military and private sector industries for emerging and next generation applications exceeds those which are able to be achieved by existing “conventional” material systems. Thus, the ever-widening performance gap between “what exists now” vs. “what is needed now”, strongly drives the demand for both advanced materials research and new product development, both of which are focused around entirely new classes of “engineered materials.  Nanophase alloys, metal matrix composites and complimentary novel manufacturing processes are just a few of the answers AM2T’s team of scientists and engineers provide industry to solve application specific performance problems.  Concurrently, the drive to eliminate toxic and hazardous materials such as beryllium and depleted uranium from the defense component landscape, continues to be an equally strong market driver for the development of AM2T’s environmentally friendly, high performance, Trademarked and Patent Pending engineered materials.

Just One Way We Do It

Dual Mode Dynamic Forging (DMDF) involves the rapid application (within seconds) of a rate-controlled high uni-axial pressure (1.24 GPa / 180 Ksi) on a heated forging preform (300°C - 1500°C) via a granular pressure transmitting media (PTM).  It is an easily automated four step, enabling manufacturing technology for the production of low, medium, and high volume components.  Solid-state powder densification of a near net shape (NNS), powder metallurgy (P/M) forging preform or hermetically sealed “canned powders”, occurs in a matter of seconds within a dynamic pressure field (Fig 1).  Un-like Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) which simply applies a uniform low-pressure gas to consolidate a powder, the DMDF process simultaneously applies a large axial pressure coupled with a smaller radial pressure, thus enabling both powder consolidation and in-situ hot working of the material.  

Dual Mode Dynamic Forging Sequence

1. Pressure Transmitting Media or PTM: The PTM is heated via a fluidized bed technique to a temperature that has been determined from the parametric study to yield a fully dense material. Several types of pressure transmitting media are used depending upon the material being consolidated.


2. Heated preform is inserted into the PTM by robot Consolidating the Powder: A simple pot die is partially filled with the heated PTM.  Next the heated powder forging preform or canned powder is securely placed into the partially filled pot die.  Additional heated PTM is poured into the pot die sufficient to cover the heated powder preform.


3. Hydraulic press ram pressurizes the grain and consolidates the part to full density: Finally, the forging ram is lowered into the pot die where it comes in contact with the heated PTM.  As pressure continues to increase the forging ram first pressurizes the heated PTM which in turn pressurizes and virtually instantaneously consolidates the near-net-shape powder preform.


4. Separating the PTM and consolidated part : The PTM is designed so that after the consolidation and deformation step have been completed, a simple screening technique easily separates the PTM and part. The now fully dense, near net shape part or canned material may be sandblasted or directly placed into a heat treat quench tank.  The separated PTM is now ready for recycling through the fluidized bed furnace.