Study on Continuous Rolling Fabrication of Iron Strip from Metal Powders

Abstract

The continuous production method of manufacturing metal strips by rolling strips directly from metal powders is not a new technique historically. The patent for this method was announced about sixty years ago [1], However, for a long time it has been buried under the conventional melting method. Since G. Naezer and F. Zirm published a paper on powder rolling of RZ iron powder, many experiments were carried out with various kinds of powders, such as iron [2, 3], copper [4, 5], nickel [6], and stainless steel [7] powders, in the United States and England. It has been reported that an attempt to produce copper [8] and nickel[9] powder rolled strips on a pilot plant scale proved successful, but no detailed reports have been published yet. The advantage of this process is the lower cost of equipment and operation, as compared with that in the conventional melting method. If the metal can be refined from the ore in a form of powder in the near future, the powder rolling process will be advisable from an economic viewpoint.