Feature article: PIM International, Vol.4 No.3 September 2010, pages 35-37, 1369 words

Author: Nick Williams, PIM International

Mimest SpA is a small but ambitious metal injection moulding company located in the outskirts of the Italian city of Trento, only a stone’s throw from the high peaks of the Italian Alps.

As Nick Williams reports, this small start-up company has developed a number of advanced and innovative MIM parts that demonstrate well its technical capabilities, from large titanium products to high performance motorsport components.   

The historic northern Italian city of Trento is not an obvious place to establish a new MIM company. Thanks, however, to a combination of regional government support for technology start-ups and the local materials technology and engineering expertise at Trento’s internationally renowned university, Mimest SpA has succeeded in creating a niche for itself within Italy’s MIM community.

The company was established in 2005 by four engineers to “realise the potential of MIM in Italy”. The company’s initial ambition was to develop MIM components for the biomedical implant sector and although this remains a key area for ongoing development, is has since diversified into markets that have a broader commercial potential. In June 2009 the company changed its name from NCS Protech to Mimest, and now has a staff of six.

Matteo Perina, Mimest’s Executive Officer, told PIM International, “We believe that we have a different approach to some of the other MIM companies in Italy. Everything that we do has a scientific approach, influenced by our background as engineers. As such we are able to take on projects that require more in-depth knowledge than simply the ‘basics’ of processing straightforward MIM parts.”.......

Further sections of this article include:

- A focus on niche markets
- Titanium MIM
- Production & materials
- R&D activity
- Looking ahead

Figures and Tables:

Fig. 1  Metal injection moulded knee prosthesis components manufactured by Mimest from CrCoMo Alloy (ASTM F75)
Fig. 2 Microstructure of the knee prosthesis (courtesy Trento University and Palloma Mutterle)
Fig. 3 Tensile data of various aged examples (courtesy Trento University and Palloma Mutterle)
Fig. 4  MIM 316L motorsport exhaust components, including a green part (left), an as sintered part (centre) and a finished part (right) after various post-sintering operations
Fig. 5  A view of the interior of the exhaust  component
Fig. 6  MIM tripod parts. In the foreground the titanium version, and in the background the stainless steel version
Fig. 7  MIM titanium trigger components in the green and sintered state
Fig. 8  MIM titanium high performance bicycle gears await sintering
Fig. 9  A view of one of the two Arburg Allrounder injection moulding machines
Fig. 10 One of two TAV vacuum sintering furnaces used at Mimest