Powder injection moulding: processing of small parts of complex shape

This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘Torque rheology of zircon feedstocks for powder injection moulding’, presented at Feedstock Development for Powder Injection Molding of Zirconium Silicate PM2011 Euro Congress – Powder Injection Moulding – Processing, Barcelona, Spain, 9–12 October, 2011.Powder Injection Moulding (PIM), Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) when is limited to metals, is a fabrication route of parts with the final shape desired. This process combines the high capability of polymer injection moulding to produce complex shapes with the advantages of a powder route to process metallic, ceramic or composites materials. The process has some limitations that comes from different technological steps involved in the production of the part (feedstock production, injection, debinding and sintering). All of these different steps can be industrially controlled, being the PIM process a real alternative to produce complex parts in a high rate production method that can compete with many other processing methods to produce materials. In this work, we will go through the different steps of this manufacturing process, making special emphasis on the solutions provided by the powder technology group of the University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M)