CMG Technologies Ltd, the UK’s only producer of components by Metal Injection Moulding (MIM), has had a busy few years. Most recently, the company hit the headlines when it was acquired by Indo-MIM, widely considered to be the world’s largest MIM producer with significant operations in India and the US. Prior to this, CMG had been expanding its presence in the metal Additive Manufacturing arena, developing its own range of filaments and providing toll debinding and sintering services to users of BASF’s Ultrafuse products. Dr Martin McMahon visited the company and reports on developments.
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Metal Injection Moulding has been the technology of choice for the micro robotics industry for many years, delivering micro-sized precision metal components in medium to high volumes. As the complexity and number of applications increases, there is an opportunity for accelerated product development and more flexible manufacturing through the combination of sinter-based Additive Manufacturing and Computational Engineering. Here, Dr Gerald Mitteramskogler, Josefine Lissner and Dr Stefan Bindl consider how these technologies can be combined for the best possible results.
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Since the earliest days of Metal Injection Moulding’s commercialisation in Europe, in the early 1990s, Swiss company Parmaco Metal Injection Molding AG has been instrumental in perfecting the process for the most advanced applications. As well as a focus on ‘Swiss precision’, producing MIM parts to the highest dimensional accuracy, the company is also renowned for the production of complex microMIM® components. Dr Georg Schlieper reports on a recent visit to the company for PIM International.
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The 4th Workshop on Sinter-based Additive Manufacturing, organised by Fraunhofer IFAM, in Bremen, Germany, took place from September 13-14 2023. It convened global experts to discuss advancements and challenges in the field. The workshop explored the maturation and potential applications of sinter-based AM technologies and highlighted the latest technical advances. Sonja Böske da Costa reports on the workshop’s presentations and discussions.
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The potential of sinter-based Additive Manufacturing for industrial production, along with the diversity of the processes that are being developed, continues to surprise. Switzerland’s Exentis Group AG has taken its own path to commercial success with what it terms ‘Additive Screen Printing’, and its speed and precision is delivering growth and opening up opportunities around the world. Dr Georg Schlieper reports on a recent visit to the company for PIM International.
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The Japan Powder Metallurgy Association’s (JPMA) annual statistics report on Metal Injection Moulding provides unique insight into the ongoing evolution of the country’s MIM industry. As well as revealing a continued upsurge in production in 2022, changes in the applications and materials mix offer visibility into growth areas for the industry. We present the published data along with insight from the JPMA into wider factors that influenced the broader Japanese PM industry in 2022.
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Metal Injection Moulding is one of the most capable manufacturing processes for small precision components, yet it is also one of the least well known. MIM parts are everywhere, from smartphones to watches, cars to aircraft – but these examples are rarely noticed by those outside of the industry. Here, we present the 2023 award-winning MIM and sinter-based AM parts from the Metal Powder Industries Federation’s Powder Metallurgy Design Excellence Awards. These examples offer an insight into the technology, as well as the opportunity for product designers and engineers to consider how they might use MIM in their own projects.
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Whilst Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) and sinter-based Additive Manufacturing processes such as Binder Jetting (BJT) are already recognised as ‘greener’ technologies than conventional processes such as casting, the drive towards energy efficiency in the sintering process is crucial to further reduce the product carbon footprint of sintered parts. Here, Plansee High Performance Materials, a Plansee Group company, introduces a new generation of hot zones that reduce energy consumption by as much as 27% – while maintaining high performance.
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Steinbach AG is considered a pioneer in the use of Additive Manufacturing for the serial production of high-performance technical ceramics. This case study describes its pioneering path to successfully implement the manufacturing of a new type of ceramic tube, with highly complex geometries, to be used in Da Vinci Surgical Systems robotic solutions for endoscopic surgery. With this application, Steinbach has achieved an annual production rate of 12,000 units and, in so doing, established itself as a leading service provider in ceramic AM.
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Over the last decade, the Metal Injection Molding industry enjoyed dramatic growth on the back of the rise of applications in smartphones. There are indications, however, that the tide is turning and the industry can no longer rely on the types of components that it once produced by MIM in the tens of millions a month. Here, Dr Chiou (Dr Q) reflects on the rise of MIM in the consumer electronics industry and explains what Chinese producers are doing to grow their businesses in Metal Injection Molding’s post-smartphone era.
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