The Metal Injection Moulding industry in Asia is experiencing significant shifts in feedstock sourcing and material usage. While BASF’s Catamold remains a key player, competition is growing, reshaping supply chains and production strategies. In this article, Dr Q (Y H Chiou) explores the evolving landscape, examining market and application trends, regional variations, and the increasing role of domestic Chinese feedstock manufacturers. As demand for complex, high-performance MIM parts rises, understanding these changes is essential for industry stakeholders
... Read more »
Sinter-based Additive Manufacturing has gained significant traction within ASTM’s International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM), growing from a niche topic to a major area of discussion. Since its introduction as a dedicated track in 2022, interest in sinter-based AM has expanded rapidly, covering technologies such as Binder Jetting (BJT), Material Extrusion (MEX), Vat Photopolymerisation (VPP), Cold Metal Fusion, and emerging hybrid approaches. In this article, Dr Animesh Bose highlights key presentations and insights from ICAM 2024 that are shaping the future of sinter-based AM.
... Read more »
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.
... Read more »
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.
... Read more »
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.
... Read more »
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.
... Read more »
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.
... Read more »
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.
... Read more »
As we start 2024, Greater China’s Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) industry is recovering from a perfect storm of challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t only impact operations at MIM plants, but key markets were adversely affected, reducing production volumes. Furthermore, after more than a decade, Apple – China’s biggest MIM parts consumer – replaced its Lightning connector, a component which required the production of billions of MIM parts. Dr Q (Y H Chiou) reports for PIM International on the changes that are now underway in this, the world’s largest MIM producing region.
... Read more »
Despite the success of Ceramic Injection Moulding (CIM) in multiple end-user sectors, from luxury watches to automotive interiors and industrial engineering, there remains considerable scope for process optimisation to advance part quality, productivity and overall process capability. As part of the ‘CIM++’ research project, Ceramaret, Primaform and the iRAP institute investigated the potential of a variotherm control system for the CIM process and, as the results presented here demonstrate, significant improvements were achieved.
... Read more »
Join our community