METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING APPARENT DENSITY OF METAL POWDER, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING MIXED POWDER, AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING POWDER COMPACT

A method for measuring an apparent density of a metal powder includes holding a metal powder in a vessel, applying an alternating magnetic flux to the metal powder using an exciting coil disposed outside the vessel, detecting the alternating magnetic flux passed through the metal powder using a-search coil disposed outside the vessel, and determining an apparent density of the metal powder from an amplitude of the detected alternating magnetic flux using a calibration curve representing a correlation between the apparent density of the metal powder and the amplitude of an alternating magnetic flux prepared in advance. The method enables to measure the apparent density of a metal powder with a high precision in an on-line and non-contact manner without stopping a process of producing a mixed powder or a process of producing a powder compact.