Now more than ever, manufacturers need to be hyper-conscious of their production yield. In the manufacturing of high-tech pressed ceramics and powdered metals, the most critical manufacturing stage to optimize yield is during the sintering process. Global Gauge adds certainty to this process, saving our customers material, time, and money. In 2015, Global Gauge Corporation introduced the Density Comparator to measure green density variations in the ceramics and powdered metals industries. Whether it be for ceramic gears, semiconductors, vitreous products, or any other sintered part, we help our customers ensure quality and consistency in their manufacturing process.

Prior to the sintering process, pre-mixed powdered metal and binding materials are inserted into a die before being uniaxially-pressed. This pressing process lightly fuses the materials together into a semi-solid shape , roughly resembling the shape and dimensions of the final product. This is referred to as a “green density” state.

Global Gauge has developed an x-ray based “Density Comparator” to specifically serve this industry. Installed in powdered metals plants around the globe, our green density systems allow customers to check the relative density of a part after being pressed — but prior to the sintering process. These green density checks allow our customers to know for certain whether the part is within their density variation tolerances, and determine if there will be significant warping resulting from the sintering process. Typical parts we analyze are ceramic gears, flanges, bearings, and various other components in automotive, aerospace, semi-conductor, vitreous, and other high-tech industries.

If the Density Comparator indicates that there are green density variations outside of the allowable range, the press operators can quickly make the appropriate changes to their presses to ensure the part falls within the pre-sintered tolerances, without having to scrap an entire batch of products. 

The Density Comparator removes an enormous bottleneck in traditional powdered metals and ceramics manufacturing, as our customers can be certain of their green density uniformity prior to the sintering process, and decrease material waste, increase efficiency, and — above all — save money.