Development of low cost powder metallurgy process of titanium alloy products

Methods to reduce production cost of titanium alloy products by blended elemental powder metallurgy were investigated from the various viewpoints. The cost for Cold Isostatic Pressing can be considerably reduced by replacing the conventional rubber mold to one-time use type mold made of thermo-plastic resin. Optimization of powder size distribution and an addition of small amount of B 4 C or Y 2 O 3 with devised means make it possible to achieve both high density ratio of more than 99.5% and refined microstructures in an as-sintered condition without detrimental increase of oxygen content, resulting in excellent mechanical properties competitive to those of Hot Isostatic Pressed materials. Furthermore, low cost Ti-Fe-Al based alloys and the reduction of machining cost are also discussed.