Manufacturing.

The manufacturing process consists of two major segments, the first being the production of various porous metal shapes (discs, cups, tubes, sheet, etc.) and the second, the production of final products such as restrictors, filter elements, spargers, air rolls, etc.

The first segment begins with pre-alloyed metal powders, which Mott purchases to a general particle size specification. Upon receipt, these powders may be further sieved and blended to achieve the particle distribution required for optimum performance for each finished product.

The powder is then compacted to meet the shape required, and sintered to create a rigid structure. Compacting methods include both commercially available processes and proprietary technology, depending on the product requirements. Cups, discs, and other shapes are produced in conventional powdered metal presses. Seamless tubes are produced by a commercial compaction process known as cold isostatic pressing. Sheet is produced by a Mott proprietary process. Sintering is done in both proprietary atmosphere furnaces and in a commercial vacuum furnace. Sintering involves the bonding of the powder particles to each other to create a rigid structure. This occurs in the temperature area between 1800°F and 2500°F depending on the alloy.

The second segment involves operations such as chemical treating to change surface characteristics, forming, welding, various machine shop operations, and assembly. These operations create the final product shape and characteristics, and marry it with outside purchased hardware such as filter end caps to create a final salable product.

The Quality Assurance function is a significant one at Mott. Mott’s product quality is unsurpassed in the metal filtration industry. Our manufacturing process includes continuous quality checks from powder purchase to final bubble point integrity tests to shipment of the final product. At present Mott meets MIL-Q-9858A compliance requirements and is ISO 9001:2000 certified.