Abstract
The paper is presented the development and method of production of modern, Ni-free sintered structural steels which contain carbide forming alloying elements (Cr) with high affinity for oxygen (Cr, Mn) and the much smaller additive of an expensive alloying element (Mo), enabling the production of structural sintered steels in commercial belt furnaces, using safe sintering atmospheres. The investigations reported deal with the analysis of microstructure and mechanical properties of these sintered structural steels produced in different processing conditions, especially modification of chemical composition of sintering atmosphere and also the connections between the microstructure of sintered material and its mechanical properties. This analysis was done to propose the appropriate chemical composition of sintered Ni-free steels with properties which are comparable or even better than those of sintered structural steels containing rich and carcinogenic nickel. The investigations of PM Mn- Cr-Mo steels were preceded by those on Mn steels.