During the International Conference on Powder Metallurgy and Particulate Materials (PowderMet2021), held in Orlando, Florida, USA, the MPIF announced the winners in its 2021 PM Design Excellence Awards. As in previous years, the awards were dominated by innovative parts produced by Metal Injection Moulding, which once again showcased the impressive versatility the process can bring to component design, and its potential as a truly competitive manufacturing technology. Here, we report on a truly diverse collection of award winning MIM parts.
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In this article, Dr Samuel von Karsa-Wilberforce, Emery Oleochemicals, Germany, and co-authors report on the tensile strength of sintered 316L specimens produced via Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), a Material Extrusion (MEX)-based Additive Manufacturing process. The parameters studied include printing nozzle temperature, flow percent or extrusion multiplier and nozzle diameter of print head. The 316L feedstock filaments are based on Emery Oleochemicals’ evolutionary binder system, which has been used in MIM for more than thirty years. The partner in the study for debinding, sintering and mechanical testing is CMG Technologies Ltd, UK.
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The dramatic growth of China’s Metal Injection Moulding industry over the past decade has not only seen MIM producers thrive, but it has driven major investments in metal powder production capabilities. One of the biggest success stories is that of Jingye Lide Additive Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a company whose production has grown from 50 tons of atomised powder in 2009 to 4,000 tons in 2020. It is planning to increase capacity to 40,000 in the near future. Dr Chiou Yau Hung (Dr Q) reports on a recent visit to the company for PIM International.
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The synergies between Metal Injection Molding and metal Binder Jetting are well known. Leveraging these synergies with the intention of accelerating binder jet application development is FreeFORM Technologies, whose team includes several experienced former MIM industry professionals. Here, FreeFORM’s Nate Higgins, Chris Aiello, Eric Wonderling and Meghan Kephart explore what has held Binder Jetting back until now, and how they intend to overcome these barriers.
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MIMplus Technologies has a proven track record in MIM materials, process and application development. Now, the company is further increasing its market reach and production capability through research-driven material and process developments. As Dr Georg Schlieper explains, the first of the company’s two main areas of current innovation is the production of NdFeB hard magnets, using recycled materials, by MIM. The second is in sinter-based Additive Manufacturing, where MIMplus is working closely with Germany’s Headmade Materials and Israel’s Tritone Technologies on the commercial development of their very distinct production processes.
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BASF SE, the market leader in feedstocks for Metal Injection Molding (MIM), has expanded its feedstock range with the release of Catamold® motion 8620, a low alloy steel feedstock suited to high performance automotive applications. In this paper, the company’s Marie-Claire Hermant, Rudolf Seiler, and Thorsten Staudt introduce the new feedstock and the strategy behind the move to pre-alloyed, water atomised powders. The properties and performance of the new system are compared with those of the company’s existing Catamold 8620 that uses the master alloy approach.
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Whilst many MIM companies choose to purchase commercially available ‘off the shelf’ feedstocks, a significant proportion continue to manufacture their own – or use both routes. Motives can range from a desire to use a proprietary binder composition for specific applications, to simple cost savings. What is critical is that in-house produced feedstocks are manufactured to the highest quality and with excellent batch-to-batch repeatability. In this article, Grant Jamieson, Managing Director of Winkworth Machinery Ltd, reviews the process of mixing, extruding and pelletising MIM feedstocks and introduces a specially-developed machine that combines these three operations.
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