Company visit: PIM International, Vol.2 No. 2 June 2008, pages 33-36, 1610 words

Author: Nick Williams, PIM International, Shrewsbury, UK

Osaka Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd, under the leadership of its President Mr. Shuntaro Terauchi, has played a key role in the development of metal injection moulding in Japan. Nick Williams, Editor of Powder Injection Moulding International, visited the company’s metal injection moulding facilities in Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture during his visit to Japan earlier this year.

Osaka Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd. was established in Osaka City in 1941 as a metallurgical heat treatment company. A philosophy of continuous investment and expansion ensured that the business benefited from the latest international innovations in heat treatment technology. The company installed the first industrial gas nitriding facility in Japan in 1955 and in 1970 six vacuum furnaces were purchased from C.I. Hayes in the USA. The following years saw the addition of Japan’s first vacuum carburizing furnace along with what was, in 1980, the largest gas cooled vacuum heat treatment furnace in Japan, purchased from the ABAR Co. in the USA.
The company remains to this day a specialist provider of heat treatment services to Japan’s diverse manufacturing sectors, with specific expertise in servicing the growing electric power generation industry.

The introduction of metal injection molding technology

The history of metal injection moulding technology at Osaka Yakin Kogyo dates back to December 1989 when Mr. Shuntaro Terauchi, President of Osaka Yakin Kogyo, acquired patent rights from Witec Japan Co., Ltd. to enable the production of MIM components. ......

Further sections of this article include:

- Metal injection moulding's acceptance and product standards

- Metal injection moulded parts production

- Materials development

- Outlook

Figures and Tables:

Fig. 1 A section of the injection moulding shop at Osaka Yakin Kogyo

Figs. 2 and 3 Various furnaces for the debinding and sintering of MIM components at Osaka Yakin Kogyo

Fig. 4 X-ray CT system for the inspection of MIM components

Fig. 5 Hinge parts for a laptop, made from stainless steel 316L. Extremely precise dimensions were required. No post sintering steps are necessary other than machining a screw hole

Fig. 6 Spectacle frame components from stainless steel 316L. These hinge parts are designed to enable compact storage

Fig. 7 The EIGA gas atomiser at Osaka Yakin Kogyo, used for materials development and the production of titanium and titanium alloy powders

Fig. 8 Mr Shuntaro Terauchi, President of Osaka Yakin Kogyo Co. Ltd.

Fig. 9 Osaka Yakin Kogyo Co. Ltd.’s MIM facility, surrounded by immaculate traditional Japanese gardens