In September 2024, the 7th International Conference on Powder Metallurgy and Additive Manufacturing of Titanium (PMTi2024) brought together experts from academia and industry in Madrid. Hosted by the Universidad Carlos III, the event featured considered PM titanium’s future, with insights into cost reduction, innovative processes, and material advancements. This article highlights key takeaways, with a particular emphasis on sinter-based processes and their industrial application. Dr Thomas Ebel presents a comprehensive review of the most notable insights.
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Filament-based Material Extrusion (MEX), also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), combines cost efficiency with versatility, enabling the rapid prototyping of complex geometries. When used with Reverse Engineering and digital scanning technologies, could the technology play a role in the supply of discontinued legacy metal parts? Here, Sihan Zhang, Saleh Khanjar, Srimanta Barui, Kameswara Pavan Kumar Ajjarapu, and Kunal Kate from the University of Louisville; Lauren Shackleford of the University of Kentucky; and Andrew Pierce, GE Appliances, report on the process undertaken to produce a discontinued stainless steel helical gear.
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Everyone had high expectations of Binder Jetting. Of all the metal Additive
Manufacturing processes, it suffered from the most hype. What transpired was
the realisation amongst machine vendors that it was harder than expected to ‘get
it right’. However, while public success stories are few and far between, progress
is being made. Azoth is one company that has successfully embraced Binder
Jetting, along with related sinter-based AM processes. With a ‘feet firmly on the
ground’ approach, and a base near Detroit, it has found commercial success in the automotive industry and beyond. Bernard North reports on a recent visit.
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Bosch Advanced Ceramics is a global leader in the production of technical ceramics, serving a variety of industries from automotive to medical devices and the chemical industry. Today, the company sees a bright future in ceramic Additive Manufacturing for the series production of parts in increasingly ambitious volumes. This article will present a case study that clearly demonstrates how, using Lithoz’s AM technology, Bosch Advanced Ceramics has been able to develop a micro-sized medical device component that is now in production with an annual run of 50,000 parts.
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Vacuum debinding and sintering furnaces from Elnik Systems LLC are a common sight in Metal Injection Moulding plants throughout Europe and the Americas. Thanks in part to the technical guidance and training available through its sister company, DSH Technologies, Elnik Systems’ market-leading position has seen it support a multitude of new manufacturing operations. Now, with the rise of sinter-based Additive Manufacturing, the need to meet the high demand for the company’s products has driven a relocation and major expansion. Nick Williams reports for PIM International.
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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. This article presents 2024’s award-winning MIM parts from the Metal Powder Industries Federation’s PM Design Excellence Awards. In addition, we also highlight the growing number of award-winning parts produced by sinter-based Additive Manufacturing. These examples present an opportunity for product designers and engineers to consider how they might use MIM and AM in their own projects.
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In Metal Injection Moulding, as in all manufacturing industries, business can either be won by competing to be the lowest-cost supplier amongst fierce global competition, or by offering the most innovative technologies for the most demanding applications. Here, Dr Georg Schlieper reports from a recent visit to Germany’s Schunk Sintermetalltechnik GmbH, a company that has taken the latter path, setting itself the goal of being a leading supplier to the aerospace industry and, at the same time, offering its customers unique solutions for the next generation of MIM applications.
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Metal Injection Moulding often has an aura of mystery around it. Whilst those in the industry understand the technology well, there are many ‘on the outside’ who are more apprehensive. In this article, Declan Coyle takes some of the mystery out of MIM technology in relation to tooling. Having gone through his own ‘MIM initiation’ process when tasked with developing the tooling for Apple’s Lightning connector in 2011, Coyle is well-positioned to offer some practical ‘do and don’t’ suggestions from a tooling engineer’s perspective.
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If you were to place a bet on which country was going to take metal Binder Jetting to the highest volumes of commercial production, China would probably be high on your list. As the world’s manufacturing hub for consumer electronics, China already accounts for nearly half of global MIM sales by value. So with markets on the doorstep, and sintering capacity and metal powder supplies ready and waiting, where’s Binder Jetting in China? Here, Dr Q and Dr James report on developments, including a new Sintering Application Center at BJ–TECH Co. featuring HP’s Metal Jet technology.
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MIM2024, the International Conference on Injection Molding of Metals, Ceramics, and Carbides, was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, from February 26 to 28, 2024. Attended by more than a hundred delegates from ten countries, this latest event in the well-established series was deemed to be an innovative success. This year was – to the relief of both attendees and the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) – an in-person only event. Dr Animesh Bose, CEO, Optimus Alloys, reviews some of the highlights from the technical programme.
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