Powder Injection Molding (PIM) for Low Cost Manufacturing of Intricate Parts to Net-Shape
Abstract : Powder Injection Molding (PIM) is a low cost manufacturing process that produces very complex parts to net-shape in a wide variety of materials and unique alloys, including superalloys, stainless steels and carbides, resulting in minimal secondary and assembly operations. PIM offers significant cost savings, increased design and materials flexibility, increased possibility of miniaturization, high mechanical properties, good surface finish and high speed production. The activities and expertise in powder metallurgy as well as in process numerical modeling related to powder injection molding at the Industrial Materials Institute of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC-IMI) and at Maetta Sciences, a company that has research and development facilities at the NRC-IMI, will be presented. Selected solutions and examples realized by NRC-IMI and by Maetta Sciences using respectively their high pressure and their scalable PIM platforms will be presented and described. Potential applications for the military, transportation and aerospace sectors will be highlighted.
Development of a Binder System for the Powder Injection Molding of Titanium: Foreign and Russian Experience. Part 1
Abstract The basic requirements imposed on the composition of a mixture of polymer components are justified, and a method for optimizing the composition of the binder system used in casting shaped metal-powder parts is considered.
Powder injection molding : an original simulation of paste flow
A specific model derived from the mixture theory has been developed to describe the filling of injection moulds by dense pastes, containing about 60 vol.% of solid particles. Each constituent is characterized by its own velocity, behavior and boundary conditions, and interacts with the other consituents by exchanging momentum. Darcy's law was adopted for the momentum supply. Finally, some applications are proposed. First of all, the validity of the model is examined by comparing a numerical simulation with experimental results, for the case of capillary rheometric measurements. The model is able to predict the anomalous slippage characteristics which were shown by the tests. Furthermore, it provides a physical explanation of the phenomenon. A qualitative numerical prediction of mould obstruction is proposed by considering segregation in the blend.