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Increasing demands are being placed by automotive OEM's on valve seat insert suppliers to improve the machinability of their products due to the direct impact on the productivity at the cylinder head machining line. To meet this challenge, a new P/M valve seat insert material was developed through a partnership between OEM, a valve seat insert manufacturer and a powder supplier. The object of this paper is to compare current materials to the new material's enhanced machinability through powder characterization, material properties and machinability studies. The effect of machinability enhancement additives, P/M processing and machining parameters are also reviewed.

Due to more stringent regulatory restrictions, the requirements for exhaust system components have become more demanding. The flanges, in particular, must provide tight sealing capability, and they must maintain this sealing capability for countless numbers of thermal cycles. The tough creep and oxidation criteria, coupled with the increased corrosion resistance required to meet the long term durability and weld integrity is moving exhaust system components toward Stainless Steel materials. The competitive cost benefits offered by the Powder Metal forming technology for fabricating Stainless steel exhaust system flanges has driven extensive study and testing of a variety of P/M exhaust flange applications.

The increased use of a wide variety of recently developed engineered materials and associated processes, for producing vehicular components, has posed a significant challenge to those charged with the responsibility of knowing, developing and/or applying inspection and testing technology to support the quality assurance of these materials, processes and resulting products. This challenge can be more easily and effectively met, within the constraints of time, expertise and other available resources, if computerized knowledge-based systems are employed to enhance the identification, acquisition and application of advanced inspection technology. This paper provides an overview of developments underway to implement this approach in an automotive environment.