Powder metallurgy processing technology
Powder metallurgy is a metal forming process which is heated by a metal powder below its melting point. Although this process has been in existence for over 100 years, it has become recognized as an important way of high quality in the last 25 years, and has a variety of important applications.

MIM advantages



Metal Injection Molding (MIM) is an established and proven manufacturing technique for producing small, complex, tight-tolerance and high-performance metal parts. MIM is a cost-effective alternative to traditional metal forming techniques such as machining, investment casting, and powder metallurgy. MIM excels at applications that require shape complexity and material properties (high strength, magnetic permeability and corrosion resistance) that cannot be fulfilled by plastic and light metal alloys. It offers tremendous single-step parts consolidation potential that makes it a competitive alternative to stamped/machined-parts assemblies. Many design and economic limitations of traditional metalworking technologies can be readily overcome by MIM. 

Today, MIM is serving critical performance applications in a wide range of industries and products including, automotive, commercial aerospace, cellular telephones, dental instruments, electronic heat sinks and hermetic packages, electrical connector hardware, industrial tools, fiber optic connectors, fluid spray systems, hard disk drives, pharmaceutical devices, power hand-tools, surgical instruments, and sporting equipment.

Why mim is best choice?

Cost Effective Design Flexibility

• Allows the freedom to manufacture complicated shapes that would be considered cost prohibitive by other methods.
• Provides for the manufacture of micro-sized parts in high volumes.
• Capable of producing features that cannot be achieved by investment casting such as small holes, thin walls and fine surface detail.
• Achieves net shape features such as internal and external threads, profiled holes and finely detailed surface textures, knurling, engravings and markings.
• Production scalability that allows from thousands to millions of parts, quickly and efficiently.

• Superior strength, magnetic, and corrosion properties due to high density achieved when compared to conventional powdered metal, plastics and die-casting.
• Net shape components from otherwise hard to process materials like Superalloys, Tungsten alloys and Titanium.
• Isotropic and homogeneous microstructure for uniform material properties.
• Capability to create alloys that are not available in wrought or cast form.
• Ability to make engineered density materials for weight critical applications.

The following document contains details of the various alloys families used in Metal injection molding (MIM ) process.  These include the following:
 
-Austenitic stainless steels  (good choice for smart watches parts and SIM card tray MIM)
n  304L
n  316L
 
-Martensitic stainless steels
n  420
n  440C
 
-Precipitation hardening stainless steels
n  17-4PH  (good choice for SIM card tray MIM)
 
- Iron based
n  Fe2Ni0.5Mo
n  Fe4Ni0.5Mo
n  Fe8Ni0.5Mo
n  FN50
 
The list of alloys represents the more popular products within the portfolio, but it is mot exhaustive. If there is an alloy of interest that does not appear in the list, please contact sales department for details on availability.
 

How to determine the ratio of metal powder and binder?

The viscosity of products increases with the increasing of solids content. When the solids content reaches 62%, the viscosity increases sharply after injection, allowing the solids content limit (up to 62%). When the binder is not enough, there is a gap between the two products will affect the powder, excessive mechanical strength of the binder, the solid content is too low, affecting degreasing, sintering shrinkage.

How to control the cost during the process of MIM?

Metal injection molding is cost-effective compared other manufacturing process when produce complex shape, small size metal components in large quantity, and what else we can do to save more money?

Purchasing cost

The purity of powder metallurgy products between 95%-98% in general, and the procurement cost of raw materials is equal to the cost of each gram of metal materials costs x parts cubage x parts density. So to control the cost, the volume of the part is to be the precise calculation.  

How to produce

The pressure is not the same different requirements of the product to, so the cost will be different. MIM productsused in the suppression of the equipment isn't more, and the speed should be fast.

Control the mold cost

We need to choose the high pressure materials when we choose the material as a mold material, which can ensure product specifications more accurate.

Contact with us in 24 hours.


Aaron Sale of Jiangsu Mimo Metal Co.,LTD.