- 2010 Award of Distinction
- Lock Hardware Appliance
- Eliminated costly machining operation
- Sinter-Hardened Nickel Steel
An Award of Distinction in the Hardware/Appliance Category of the 2010 Powder Metallurgy Design Excellence Awards Competition was presented to ASCO Sintering Co. for a high-strength sinter-hardened PM steel dead-locking lever made for a 40H series high-security mortise lock.
Warm compacted and sintered to a density of 7.0 g/cm³, the part has a 145,000 psi ultimate tensile strength, a 9.5 ft.·lb. impact strength, a 40,000 psi fatigue strength, and a 30 HRC hardness. The part undergoes resin impregnation, deburring, zinc plating, and chromating.
By eliminating a milling operation, which uses cutting fluids that may contain harmful chemical agents that ultimately contribute to the “greenhouse effect,” PM provided a 40 percent cost savings and clearly demonstrated PM’s “sustainability” advantage.
