No matter which market report you choose to believe, all recent analysis of the ceramic AM market points to major growth. But this is still an emerging technology, and in terms of its commercial development, ceramic AM is said to be five years behind metal AM. Now, as global manufacturers of high-performance ceramics enter the market, an even faster acceleration in technology adoption is promised. Here, Claus Falkner, of CeramTec, a producer of technical ceramics by processes that include Ceramic Injection Moulding, explores the benefits of ceramic Binder Jetting and considers the process as a compelling solution for complex parts.
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Arburg GmbH + Co KG, Lossburg, Germany, has been working intensively
on sustainability and resource efficiency for a very long time. As the supplier
of the widely used Allrounder line of injection moulding machines, the
company is increasingly active in evaluating climate protection activities
along the entire value chain for its customers. On the basis of ISO TS
14067:2018 – a standard that defines a product’s greenhouse gas emissions
or Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) – Bertram Stern, Sustainability Manager
at Arburg, reports on how the PCF and specific energy requirements of
Arburg injection moulding machines can be calculated.
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In the programme of the 2022 International Conference on Injection Molding of Metals, Ceramics and Carbides (MIM2022), organised by the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) and held in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, a number of presentations reported on innovations in both Metal Injection Moulding and the closely related sinter-based Additive Manufacturing process. In this report, Dr Satya Banerjee, Bishoi Consulting Co. LLC, reviews his highlights from the conference programme.
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Newcomers to Metal Injection Moulding never cease to be amazed when
they see that green parts uniformly shrink during debinding and sintering
into a finished part. This calculated shrinkage, which is what enables
products to conform to an engineer’s blueprints, can appear pretty magical.
It is, of course, simply a matter of mathematical calculation. In this article,
Dr Chiou Yau Hung (Dr Q) and James Chao, from You neeD Technology
Office, Taiwan, encourage you not be scared off by the mathematics and
discover the calculations at the heart of MIM
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There can be few Metal Injection Moulding companies which are not keeping one eye on metal Binder Jetting (BJT). This rapidly progressing Additive Manufacturing process offers the promise of tool-free, high-volume production that can leverage much of an existing MIM producer’s expertise and equipment. Indo-MIM Inc., one of the world’s largest MIM producers, with operations in India and the US, started its exploration of Binder Jetting in 2019. Here, the company’s Jag Holla shares his insight into what the company has learnt so far, and where he sees the dividing line between MIM and BJT.
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Metal Injection Moulding is a technology that, in addition to its industrial application, is widely used for the manufacture of luxury goods, from watch cases to the decorative logos for exclusive handbags. For many such applications, the value of technologies for counterfeit prevention, quality control or identification for recycling purposes is very high. Here, Erik Dietrich, Applied Research Engineer at Demcon Metal Injection Moulding, Enschede, the Netherlands, reports on an innovative solution developed with Germany’s Tailorlux GmbH that enables the integration of unique optical fingerprint technology into MIM feedstocks.
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The combination of generative and algorithmic design with Additive Manufacturing is opening up a new world of opportunity for ceramics. Whilst Ceramic Injection Moulding has, until now, been the manufacturing process that offered the greatest level of design freedom for industrial production, ceramic AM now brings a level of freedom to produce complex structures that go far beyond what can be moulded. Prof Alberto Ortona, from the Hybrid Materials Laboratory at University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), explores ceramic Binder Jetting, the opportunities that it presents, and its current limitations.
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The ability of Metal Injection Molding to efficiently manufacture complex stainless steel components to net shape has enabled it to become a go-to technology for sectors such as watchmaking, luxury goods and medical devices. However, the challenge of meeting the growing demand for nickel-free stainless steels presents a number of challenges for MIM producers. In this article, Pierre Girin and Jean-Claude Bihr, from France’s Alliance MIM, review these challenges and share insight into the processing of a material class that holds great promise for the industry.
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A Special Interest Seminar in the programme of the virtual Euro PM2021 conference, organised by the European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) and held October 18-22, 2021, focused on developments aimed at enhancing the sustainability of production by Metal Injection Moulding. This seminar comprised three presentations from representatives of different points in the MIM process chain.
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In recent years there has been a surge in interest in sinter-based metal Additive Manufacturing, with many of these technologies adapting the materials used in Metal Injection Moulding. Whilst Binder Jetting (BJT) and Material Extrusion (MEX) processes lead the field in terms of market penetration, sometimes something radically different comes along. This is certainly the case with Germany’s Headmade Materials, whose Cold Metal Fusion (CMF) AM process takes a completely new approach. Dr Georg Schlieper visited the company and reports for PIM International on the company and its technology.
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