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Alpha Precision Group Wins Awards at PM Design Excellence Awards

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Alpha Precision Group won three awards at the 2024 PM Design Excellence Awards Ceremony in June. The awards ceremony was held as part of PowderMet 2024, the premier event of the Americas on powder metallurgy and metal additive manufacturing conferences. 

Grand Prize: Guitar Capo

APG-Paige-2-EditA grand prize was awarded in the Hand Tools/Recreation Category for MIM Components, APG and their customer, Paige Musical, for a six-string guitar capo assembly comprising a saddle, adjustment guide, bar, and yoke. 

A capo is used to temporarily shorten the strings on a guitar, raising the pitch of the unfretted or “open” strings and changing the key of the open-position chords. The incredibly challenging part design led to issues with tool design, molding, de-binding, and sintering operations. Customized ceramic setters and an optimized two-stage injection molding process was required for successful manufacture of the part. The adjustment guide has an as-molded thread, and zero secondary operations are needed for manufacture and function.

 

Learn more about this project: Guitar Capo

 

Stainless-Steel Diesel Exhaust Fluid Injector Flange

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APG was also given an award of distinction In the Automotive—Engine Category for Conventional PM components for a stainless-steel diesel exhaust fluid injector flange used in a mid-size pick-up truck. Diesel emission fluid (DEF) injectors have become a vital technology in diesel engine after-treatment systems as they reduce the amount of NOx gas exiting the tailpipe.

 

 

 

Learn more about this project: APG Injector Flange

 

Pneumatic Chuck Jaws

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APG also earned an award of distinction in the Hardware/Appliances Category for Metal AM components for 150 mm (six-inch) pneumatic chuck jaws for work-holding during precision turning. The parts are made using material jetting (MJT). The printing process allows the inner-lattice structure to be formed without having to de-powder, eliminating the risk of any powder entrapment in difficult-to-access areas. Mold-jet processing generates little waste, and the wax used to form the mold is recovered and can be reused for the next build.

 

 

 

Learn more about this project: Pneumatic Chuck Jaws:

 

About APG

APG is a diversified metal-forming technology company providing conventional powdered metal, high temperature stainless steel powdered metal, metal injection molding, and additive metal manufacturing (3D metal printing) components and assemblies as well as high precision valve assemblies to a global customer base. The company continues to leverage unparalleled technical expertise and innovative technologies to provide custom solutions to customers.

 

About the Powder Metallurgy (PM) Design Excellence Awards

The winners in the 2024 Powder Metallurgy (PM) Design Excellence Awards competition, sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), demonstrate outstanding examples of PM’s diversity and ability to meet critical requirements. From electric vehicles to medical implants, once again, parts fabricators have demonstrated PM’s versatility and unique ability to challenge competing technologies. These award-winning components use PM’s flexibility to push forward new concepts and process controls to demonstrate the inexhaustible range of PM’s capabilities.

Ten Grand Prizes and seventeen Awards of Distinction were given in this year's competition, segmented into 3 categories: Conventional Press and Sinter PM; Metal Injection Molding (MIM); and Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM).

About the Metal Powder Industries Federation 

Metal Powder Industries Federation is the North American trade association formed by the powder metallurgy industry to advance the interests of the metal powder producing and consuming industries and provides a single point of reference for all MPIF member companies.