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Since 1980, Expert has been instrumental in the development of new magnetic alloys, their processing, improvement in their properties, and preparation of specifications for their usage. He has also assisted in marketing these materials and recommending their usage for new, emerging magnetic components and assemblies. His main interest lies with soft magnetic materials such as phosphorus irons, ferritic stainless steels, nickel permalloys, and silicon irons. He has a laboratory fully equipped to determine magnetic properties of these and other magnetic materials.

Expert has been involved with stainless steel alloy development since the beginning of his career, and is currently involved with the development of improved corrosion resistance of stainless steels. He has particular expertise in improving the corrosion resistance of ferritic P/M stainless steels for magnetic applications such as sensors and fuel injectors.

Expert's current work involves the development of a process to produce a TaC powder for tool steels. For the past 10 years, he has been involved in the development and characterization of ferrophosphorous compound powders for magnetic applications. More recently, he has begun a study to determine the effect of particle size distribution on stuccos.

During the past year, Expert and his colleagues have worked with a company to use microhardness measurements to characterize the quality of electroplated gold bumps on transistor circuits. His research-to-date has demonstrated the usefulness of Vickers microhardness measurements in characterizing the quality of the gold electroplated bumps.

Expert and his colleagues are strongly involved in the study of vacuum sintering and adaptations to the process to improve the properties of P/M parts for magnetic applications, sintering of stainless steels, and high-strength structural P/M components. They are also heavily involved in a lubricant study to develop a lubricant that can be removed from P/M parts sintered in a vacuum furnace without contamination of the furnace.


Expert is proficient in the characterization of metal, ferro-alloy, TaC, TaH, and FexP powders.

Expert has a vast knowledge of furnaces and atmospheres required for heat treatment of materials. He has a continuing program to improve the use of the vacuum furnace for the sintering of P/M parts. He is familiar with belt furnaces currently used for sintering. He is currently researching a process to permit burn-off of lubricant in the vacuum furnace without contaminating the furnace. He has developed annealing cycles to permit grain growth of magnetic materials for improved properties. Expert is also working on a heat treating process to permit higher strength in P/M structural alloys. He is studying heat treating cycles to permit improved corrosion resistance in stainless steels. Other heat treating processes of interest to Expert include hydriding, carburizing and nitriding to develop intermetallic compounds. He has also developed processes to promote liquid phase sintering in P/M materials.


Expert has a strong background in electromagnets. His first assignment at Hoeganaes Corp. in 1965 was to develop a molybdenum permalloy powder. Since then he has been instrumental in the development of phosphorus irons for magnetic applications. He has also led in the development of ferritic stainless steels for magnetic applications. Other soft magnetic materials studied include 5ONi/5Ofe and silicon irons. Expert has been a course director for magnetic short courses at APMI and has published extensively in the field. He is currently chairman of ASTM Committee A-06 which provides industry standards for magnetic materials and test procedures.


While at Hoeganaes, Expert was in charge of development of powders for hardfacing coatings. This work included development of self-fluxing alloys. He was also involved with development of powders for plasma coatings and has a thorough understanding of the required equipment and its operation. He is currently developing coatings for wear resistance and for corrosion resistance.


Expert's company, Employer, has had many opportunities to develop powders that will satisfy specific properties for various applications. Employer has vast experience in developing ferrous, stainless steel, hardfacing, superalloy, magnetic, and refractory metal powders to satisfy specific properties. The Employer laboratory has the capability for defining the properties of these powders and for processing such as hydriding, nitriding, carburizing, and coating the powders. Employer has also participated in developing fine powders required for the metal injection molding process. Other powders developed include nuclear materials, beryllium alloys, tungsten, tantalum, superalloys, stainless steels, hardfacing powders, and powders for forging and high-strength applications.


Employer maintains a laboratory which is equipped to conduct standard mechanical tests including hardness, tensile, fatigue, and impact tests.


Expert is experienced with many hardness tests using Brinell, Rockwell, Rockwell Superficial, Vickers, and microhardness tests with either the Knoop or the Vickers diamond pyramid indentor. He has taught the theory of hardness measurement as part of a course for many years.


Employer is currently working with customers to develop a microhardness test that will permit the microhardness measurements to be a realistic control of the quality of electroplated gold upon electronic chip substrates.

Employer specializes in development of improved P/M alloys. The company has developed phosphorus iron alloys that have excellent magnetic and mechanical properties and is active in developing P/M stainless steels that have excellent magnetic properties and exhibit improved corrosion resistance. Employer has also developed a 4340 P/M steel and other P/M high strength materials which include phosphorus or boron as the major alloying element in conjunction with nickel and molybdenum to improve strength. Programs are also in progress to develop improved intermetallic compounds (carbides, hydrides, nitrides) for special applications.

Expert understands the established and evolving sintering processes as they are employed to manufacture P/M parts. He is active in assisting part fabricators and end users in tailoring the sintering process to satisfy their requirements.

Employer has equipment available that permits metallographic analysis of material systems. Equipment available include an optical microscope, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur determinators, particle size analyzer, microhardness tester, and scanning electron microscope. The company primarily conducts failure analyses, alloy development, interpretation of microstructure of heat treated materials, and analysis of coatings.

Expert directed a program toward the development of superalloy powders. He investigated the atomizing conditions necessary to atomize superalloy powders with less than 100 ppm oxygen. He then researched various commercial processes to consolidate the powder into useful dense shapes. Processes studied include hot pressing, hot isostatic compaction, forging, extrusion, and explosive compaction. Microstructures were defined and mechanical properties of the fully dense parts were determined.