The increasing use of powder metallurgy techniques to make an almost infinite variety of materials and products places greater emphasis on utilization of sophisticated experimental techniques. Usually research and development efforts initiate the use of newly developed equipment and analytical procedures. Indeed, the contents of this book are strongly linked to research endeavors, in both the academic and industrials worlds. However, this volume can serve a much needed function in industrial applied powder metallurgy. Although many research ers will find the contents of great value, the technical personnel more involved with production, quality control, customer services and product design now have at their dispo sal a means to learn about the potential uses of several very important techniques. With today's "knowledge explosion" the present set of papers greatly facilitates the comprehension and adoption of new procedures. If powder metallurgy is to continue its rapid rate of growth in virtually all segments of industry, then the transition of modern equipment and procedures from tools of research and development laboratories to everyday plant operations and applications must be hastened. The editors hope that this volume aids in this process, as well as assisting students and researchers by providing a ready source of up-to-date useful information.
