‘Thermal only’ binder system for Powder Injection Moulding (PIM) offered by Japan’s Atect Corp
January 22, 2010
Atect Corporation, based in Osaka, Japan, has introduced what it claims is the world’s first thermal only binder system for Metal Injection Molding (MIM) and Ceramic Injection Molding (CIM) parts production. Founded in 1959, Atect Corp. has been developing advanced high-technology plastic injection moulding and tooling technologies for more than 50 years.
The company entered the materials production business this year and already supplies their ‘Full-mould’ brand of binders to a number of Southeast Asian MIM producers, including companies in Korea and Taiwan, and is reporting positive feedback.
Atect’s Kim Gye-Yeon told PIM International, “Our binders are very reliable because they were developed with the experience that we have gained through our own injection moulding and tool manufacturing operations. Our booth at the EURO PM2009 exhibition was a good opportunity for us to promote our binders and we received a lot of inquiries from leading MIM related companies regarding our product”.
Atect states that their binder system is unique in that it only requires thermal debinding, so the traditional ‘organic solvent’ or ‘catalytic’ debinding step is unnecessary. The thermal debinding system can be used both under normal atmospheric pressure and under vacuum, enabling the binder to be processed using the atmosphere most appropriate to the metal being used.
“We recommend an inert gas as an atmosphere inside the thermal furnace, which is able to completely decomposed the binder at temperatures lower than 500°C”, stated Kim Gye-Yeon.
“This is best not only for ferrous powders but also non-ferrous powders such as titanium and copper based metals. We believe our binder will be the best one for many of the global MIM systems and that it is essential for us to develop materials which will be better for the environment, safer and easier to handle”.
Atect Corporation operates in a number of business areas including the electronics, bio and polymer particle business. Their share of global sales for spacer tapes, needed to assemble electronics parts for liquid crystal televisions, exceeds 70% and they are listed on the Japan stock market JASDAQ. Contact: Ms Kim Gye-Yeon, Email: [email protected]
