The PM2012 World Congress, to be held in Yokohama, Japan, 14-18 October 2012, promises to offer those involved in the PIM industry an unrivalled insight into the current status and future prospects for the technology.

Special Interest Seminar: New Developments and Trends in Powder Injection Moulding

PM2012’s Special Interest Seminar SIS1 features six invited presentations from academic and industrial experts that will provide a broad coverage of the possibilities of MIM and CIM technology, from its material selection to emerging market areas, integration of additional functions, miniaturisation and future R&D directions in simulation, optimisation, informatics and process-integrated quality control. The presentations include:

• Development and Trends in North American Powder Injection Molding

  A. Bose, Materials Processing, Inc., R. M. German, San Diego State University (USA)

• New Developments and Trends in Metal Injection Molding

  F. Petzoldt, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM (Germany)

• Development and Trends of MIM in Taiwan

  K.-S. Hwang, National Taiwan University (Taiwan)

• New Development and Trend in Korean Powder Injection Molding

  S. J. Park, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), S. W. Lee, Pusan National University, Y.-S. Kwon, CetaTech, Inc. (Korea)

• A Review of the MIM Industry in China

  Y. Li, H. He, Central South University (China)

• Recent MIM Activity & Standardization in Japan

  Y. Kato, Kato Professional Engineering Office (Japan)

Technical Presentations focus on PIM

In addition to this Special Interest Seminar, more than 35 papers in the technical programme address all aspects of PIM production, from innovative processing to new materials and applications.

Competing technologies under the spotlight

In a unique session planned for PM2012, invited experts assess developments in technologies that compete directly with PM and PIM. Presentations include:

• Recent Trend of Casting Technology and Applications

  K. Shimizu, Muroran Institute of Technology (Japan) 

• The Latest Trend and Application Example of Forging Technology in Japan

  T. Ishikawa, Nagoya University (Japan) 

• Fineblanking

  K. Hayashi, Committee on Fineblanking (Japan)