MIM community united once more at MIM2022 hybrid conference
March 11, 2022
The Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) reported a successful MIM2022, the International Conference on Injection Molding of Metals, Ceramics and Carbides. This year’s event was hybrid, with the in-person portion taking place in February in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA and attracting 104 attendees. The virtual portion brought a further seventeen. The attendance breakdown this year consisted of 27% parts manufacturers, 30% powder & feedstock suppliers, 24% equipment & service providers, 8% end users/consumers, and 11% other.
The conference began with keynote speaker Gary Jaworek, Johnson & Johnson, Medical Devices, who highlighted the recent developments the company has made to improve its speed to market and design processes utilising Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) and metal Additive Manufacturing during its process development. He also shared some of the company’s sustainability goals that they are working on both internally and with their suppliers.
In addition to twenty-seven technical presentations, eighteen companies showcased their products and services at the tabletop exhibit. Fourteen exhibitors also provided ‘infomercials’ for their companies intermittently throughout the Tuesday.
The Metal Injection Molding Association again provided six students with a grant to attend the conference and present a technical presentation. The recipients were given the opportunity to hear cutting-edge presentations, make connections with professionals in the field, and gain exposure to the MIM industry, while also being given the platform to present on the work at each of their respective universities.
This year’s grant-winning students were:
- Kameswara Ajjarapu, University of Louisville, United States
- Nicolas Charpentier, FEMTO-ST, France
- Luke Malone, University of Louisville, United States
- Stefan Rathfelder, Pforzheim University/Montanuni. Leoben, Germany
- Derek Shaffer, Penn State University, United States
- Xuehiu Yang, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, United States
Prior to the MIM2022 conference, all registrants were able to attend the Powder Injection Molding (PIM) Tutorial which was presented by Matt Bulger, former MIMA and MPIF president.