Metallic components have been sintered in the presence of an abnormal glow discharge. The sample, which works as the cathode of the discharge, is heated by the bombardment of strongly accelerated ions and fast neutrals created in the cathode sheath The components are sintered at 1120 degrees C during 20 minutes. The discharge is generated in an atmosphere containing either a mixture of 80% Ar + 20% H-2 or pure Ar at 2000 Pa, The temperature is adjusted by varying the average voltage of the power supply. In this work, microstructural results of unalloyed iron samples sintered by plasma are presented. Measurements of bulk porosity show that the plasma sintering process is activated as compared to the conventional furnace sintering. A lower porosity is also observed near the surface than in the bulk of the plasma-sintered sample, Such an effect is attributed to the sputtering that occurs due to the bombardment of the sample.