3.1. In-mold temperature profiles
The internal mold temperature profiles were recorded during the heating and cooling cycle, by using a thermocouple. Fig. 5 shows the internal temperature profiles of parts molded with various types of extended fins. The processing conditionsused were: a weight charge of 200 g, an oven temperature of 270 1C, a rotational speed of 12 rpm, and with still air cooling. All measured temperature profiles exhibited a similar heating/cooling pattern as that shown in Fig. 4, which is a typical temperature profile with four identifiable stages: induction, adherence of powder, melting– sintering of powder and fusion–densification [2,3],as proposed by Crawford