A study of the effects of sintering parameters on the microstructure and properties of PIM Ti6Al4V alloy
Authors: R. Zhang, J. Kruszewski and J. Lo
CANMET/MTL, Natural Resources Canada,
568 Booth St. Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0G1, Canada 

The Ti6Al4V alloy evaluated in this work was fabricated by the Powder Injection Moulding (PIM) process using an elemental mixed Ti powder.  Samples with a sintered density of 99.5% of its theoretical and higher were achieved by optimising the sintering conditions.  Sintering temperatures between 1250ºC and 1320ºC were used in this study.  It was found that, of the sintering temperature range investigated, the sintering temperature had little effect on the sintered density whereas the sintering time played an important role.  The mechanical properties of the sintered samples were comparable to the wrought alloy.  The best mechanical properties obtained in this study were 122GPa in elastic modulus, 865MPa in tensile yield strength, and 955MPa in UTS with 12% of elongation.  The relationships among sintering parameters, sintered density, microstructure and mechanical properties are being discussed.
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Material homogeneity in powder injection moulded ceramic microchannel arrays
Carl Wu*, Sundar V. Atre*, Sachin Laddha, * Shiwoo Lee,* Kevin Simmons, ** Seong-Jin Park, *** Randall M. German *** and Donald T. Whychell, Sr.****
*Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, Oregon State University
106, Covell Hall, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA.

**Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA
***Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
****CM Furnaces, Bloomfield, NJ 07003, USA

Microsystem technology has propelled the development of micro and multi-scale manufacturing techniques for more than a decade. Among these techniques, micro powder injection moulding (micro PIM) is drawing attention recently as one of the most cost-effective processes suitable for medium and mass production of micro components such as ceramic microchannel arrays. Fast mould filling during the fabrication can cause particles to migrate because of the increased shear rate in the cavity. This paper presents an in-depth study on the material homogeneity issue from micro PIM at both macroscale (short shot) and microscopic (binder/powder separation) levels. The study is based on newly developed experimental and simulation platforms which can be used as a development tool for micro PIM and microsystem designs. Key words: Ceramic microfabrication, powder injection moulding, microchannel arrays.
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