Company visit: PIM International, Vol.2 No. 3 September 2008, pages 33-35, 1832 words

Author: Dr. Georg Schlieper, Ingenieurbüro Gammatec, Germany

Ingenieurbüro Gammatec, Alleestr. 101, D-42853 Remscheid, Geramny

BASF SE’s Catamold® feedstock system enjoys a leading position in the powder injection moulding industry. Dr. Georg Schlieper visited BASF’s manufacturing complex at Ludwigshafen and reports for Powder Injection Moulding International on PIM related operations at the world’s largest chemical company.

The industrial complex of the global chemical company BASF SE stretches over 7km along the Rhine at Ludwigshafen, Germany, and employs more than 30,000 people. Passing gate 5, I enter a modern steel-and-glass building, the Conference Centre. Behind this building is the entrance into another world (Fig. 1). A puzzling diversity of pipelines criss-cross the street and run along the factory road. Prosaic industrial buildings alternate with huge storage tanks and chemical production plants. After a short journey I reach building J 513, a plain rectangular brick edifice, three stories high. This is the place where the entire world supply of Catamold® feedstock is produced.

Since 1992, BASF’s patented powder injection moulding (PIM) feedstocks have been marketed under the trade name Catamold®. The name refers to a group of compounds for PIM consisting of fine metal or ceramic powders and a polymer binder system - mostly polyacetal (POM) - plus several additives. The ceramic powders are sourced from external suppliers. As for the metal grades both pre-alloyed powders and master alloy versions are offered. In the latter the BASF in-house carbonyl iron powder is processed with metal alloy concentrate. BASF produces all the ingredients found in the binder compounds in-house. ....

Further sections of this article include:

- Helping with the supply of complete PIM production cells
- Production using Catamold®
- Continuous PIM production
- BASF’s approach to PIM

Figures and Tables:

Fig. 1 Aerial view of BASF Ludwigshafen (Courtesy BASF)

Fig. 2 Back cover of a mobile phone made from black zirconia ceramic by PIM (Courtesy BASF)

Fig. 3 Mobile phone hinge assembled with two MIM parts (Courtesy BASF)

Fig. 4 Continuous production line for PIM parts (schematic) (Courtesy BASF)