Material Specifications
The material specifications are divided into four categories and standards have been developed for each category. Both the purchaser and the manufacturer should, in order to avoid possible misconceptions or misunderstandings, agree on the following conditions prior to the manufacture of a PM part: minimum strength value, grade selection, chemistry, proof testing, typical property values and processes, which may affect the part application. These standards are cross referenced with ASTM and ISO standards.
MPIF Standard 35
Materials Standards for PM Structural Parts
Standard 35-SP Summary of Major Changes (pdf)
Materials Standards for PM Self-Lubricating Bearings
Standard 35-SLB Summary of Major Changes (pdf)
Materials Standards for Metal Injection Molded Parts
Standard 35-MIM Summary of Major Changes (pdf)
Materials Standards for PF Steel Parts
Standard 35-PF Summary of Major Changes (pdf)
Materials Standards for Metal Additive Manufactured Parts
Index of all MPIF Standard 35 Materials (pdf)
Methods of Test
The Standard Test Methods for Metal Powders and Powder Metallurgy Products has been developed to provide guidance for PM technology users and suppliers. They have been adopted in cooperation with member trade associations through committees comprised of technical experts responsible for developing standards within their areas of expertise and proposing them to the MPIF membership. Before a standard can be issued as an official MPIF standard, it must be approved by the MPIF membership as a whole. The standards have all been adopted under this procedure.
The current edition contains 48 standards covering terminology and recommended methods of test for metal powders, powder metal and metal injection molded parts, metallic filters, powder metallurgy equipment, and metal additive manufacturing (AM).
General Information VI provides details (QR codes and Internet links) on viewing educational video clip demonstrations of the working mechanics of a number of cited test methods.
Summary of Major Changes
MPIF Standard 56, Determination of Rotating Beam Fatigue Properties of Powder Metallurgy (PM) Materials –excel worksheet for Table 1
Staircase Fatigue Calculator
Powder Press Safety Standards
The American National Standard for Machine Tools—Metal Powder Compacting Presses: Safety Requirements for Construction Care and Use was prepared in conjunction with MPIF and the B11.16 subcommittee of ANSI. The standard was developed to eliminate injuries to personnel associated with presses used in powder metallurgy, by establishing safety requirements for the construction, safeguarding, care and use of PM presses.
Note: The use of any MPIF standard is entirely voluntary. Existence of an MPIF standard does not in any respect preclude any member of MPIF or non-members from manufacturing or selling products not included in the standards. Suppliers are at liberty to supply products or to use procedures other than those identified in any standard.
Analytical Strength Assessment of Components Made of Sintered Steels
Herausgeber FKM
The FKM Guideline “Analytical Strength Assessment of Components Made of Sintered Steels” is the first publicly available, engineer ready design rule dedicated to pressed and sintered steels. It is fully aligned with the established FKM framework for local, elastic stress assessment. It closes a long-standing gap: while wrought and cast steels are well covered, powder metallurgy (PM) components have lacked a coherent, validated assessment method.
The guideline enables reliable static and fatigue verification using only two material inputs: Vickers hardness (HV10) and density. From these values, all necessary properties and influence factors are derived so that the degree of utilization for static and fatigue strength can be evaluated. In addition to hardness and density, the method requires only a linear elastic finite element analysis to obtain local principal or von Mises stresses and their distribution.
The assessment approach is grounded in an exceptional database – over 22,000 fatigue data points and 64 × 2 static tests – covering 12 widely used sintered steel families and 35 specimen geometries. This breadth supports confident application across typical hardness and density ranges and complex local stress states.
Engineers benefit from minimal inputs, fast FE based workflows, reduced testing effort, and consistent, traceable decisions. The guideline is ideal for automotive and machinery applications, integrates seamlessly with existing CAE processes, and helps avoid overdesign while safeguarding durability. In short, it turns PM component design into a data guided, efficient, and robust process.
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