Editing Sintering (section)

{{short description|Process of forming and bonding material by heat or pressure}}
{{Other uses|Sinter (disambiguation)}}
{{more footnotes|date=October 2022}}

[[File:Sintering diagram vector.svg|thumb|Heat and compaction fuse small particles into a dense bulk]]
[[File:LDClinkerScaled.jpg|thumb|[[clinker (cement)|Clinker]] nodules produced by sintering]]

'''Sintering''' or '''frittage''' is the process of compacting and forming a [[solid]] mass of material by [[pressure]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=sintered |url=https://thefreedictionary.com/sintered#:~:text=adj,pressure |dictionary=[[The Free Dictionary]] |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> or heat<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|sinter |access-date=2022-10-11}}</ref> without [[melting]] it to the point of [[liquefaction]]. Sintering happens as part of a [[manufacturing]] process used with [[metal]]s, [[ceramic]]s, [[plastic]]s, and other materials. The atoms/molecules in the sintered material diffuse across the boundaries of the particles, fusing the particles together and creating a solid piece.

Since the sintering temperature does not have to reach the [[melting point]] of the material, sintering is often chosen as the shaping process for materials with extremely high melting points, such as [[tungsten]] and [[molybdenum]]. The study of sintering in [[metallurgy|metallurgical]] powder-related processes is known as [[powder metallurgy]].

An example of sintering can be observed when ice cubes in a glass of water adhere to each other, which is driven by the temperature difference between the water and the ice. Examples of pressure-driven sintering are the compacting of snowfall to a glacier, or the formation of a hard snowball by pressing loose snow together.

The material produced by sintering is called ''sinter''. The word ''sinter'' comes from the [[Middle High German]] {{lang|gmh|sinter}}, a [[cognate]] of English ''[[wikt:cinder|cinder]]''.