Powder metals absorb microwave radiation and can be heated and sintered, using microwaves.
Sintering is used to manufacture many parts made from ceramics, metals and combinations of materials. Sintering causes the metal powder particles to bond together forming a solid dense material after the microwave treatment. The Penn State research team took commercial powder metal components, including small gears, rings and tubes, and compared them with microwaved products. Field tests in commercial applications show superior performance at a much lower cost to produce. They published their results last year in the journal Nature.