PIM International, Vol. 20 No. 2 Summer 2026

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The 124-page Summer 2026 issue of PIM International (Vol. 20 No. 2) features over forty pages of industry news, plus the following articles and technical reviews:

Metal Injection Moulding in Asia: Scale, supply chains, and growing overlap with metal Additive Manufacturing

Asia’s Metal Injection Moulding industry – led overwhelmingly by Greater China – has evolved into a vast, highly integrated manufacturing ecosystem underpinning global production of small, complex metal components. Driven by consumer electronics, expanding powder supply chains, and growing overlap with metal Additive Manufacturing, the region is reshaping precision manufacturing at industrial scale.

Dr Yau-Hung, Chiou (Dr Q), Dr Yu-Deh, Chao (Dr James) of You Need Technology Consulting Co, Ltd, and Emma Lawn and Nick Williams of PIM International examine these developments.

Chanel’s J12: How Ceramic Injection Moulding became part of the luxury narrative

Chanel’s J12 has long been one of luxury watchmaking’s most recognisable ceramic watches. Now, through a series of videos shared across its social media channels, Chanel is giving rare visibility to the Ceramic Injection Moulding (CIM) process behind the collection. By presenting powder processing, moulding, sintering and finishing as integral to the J12’s identity, the brand is framing CIM as a source of luxury value in itself.

Emma Lawn explores how Chanel is integrating advanced ceramic manufacturing into the language of luxury.

Ceramic AM enables 500 mm dual-channel gas distribution ring for high-speed PEALD and ALE in the same chamber

As semiconductor manufacturers move towards larger substrates and faster atomic-scale processes, the components inside wafer production tools must scale up without compromising precision. Plasway-Technologies, Alumina Systems and Lithoz have developed a 500 mm dual-channel alumina gas distribution ring for Plasway-Technologies’ FAST Atomic Layering Process (FALP) platform.

Produced using Lithoz’s ceramic Additive Manufacturing, the ring enables high-speed Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (PEALD) and Atomic Layer Etching (ALE) in the same chamber, while maintaining highly uniform gas distribution across large wafer substrates.

From hypersonics to EVs: Sintering non-oxide ceramics for next-generation technologies

Growing interest in advanced non-oxide ceramics for hypersonics, semiconductors, armour, electronics and other demanding applications is bringing renewed attention to the sintering science that determines final part performance.

Ceramic Injection Moulding (CIM) and sinter-based Additive Manufacturing (AM), particularly Binder Jetting (BJT), are expanding the shaping potential of carbides, nitrides, borides and ultra-high-temperature ceramics.

In this article, Scott Robinson, Centorr Vacuum Industries, reviews the key considerations in debinding, furnace design, atmosphere control and sintering.

ColdMetalFusion: A new approach to metal Additive Manufacturing

In this feature, Marcel Strobel, Chief Product Officer at Headmade Materials, outlines what makes ColdMetalFusion different, how the process works, and where it fits within today’s industrial manufacturing landscape.

Combining polymer PBF-LB with established sintering technology, the process uses a feedstock in which the laser melts only the polymer binder rather than the metal itself, offering an alternative route to industrial metal Additive Manufacturing with lower thermal loads, simplified feedstock handling, and compatibility with existing manufacturing infrastructure.

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