Curious about Metal Injection Moulding? Take a look in PIM International, March 2018
February 20, 2018
Read PIM International, March 2018
The March 2018 issue of Powder Injection Moulding International has been released and is available to read for free online.
Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) is an advanced manufacturing technology for the production of complex, high volume net-shape components. The technology shares similarities with Additive Manufacturing processes such as binder jetting, often using the same size and type of metal powders and sharing binder removal and sintering stages.
In MIM however, a feedstock containing fine metal powder and thermoplastic binder is injected into a mould to form the part. Before the part is finished, it undergoes a binder removal process and a sintering stage which results in similar mechanical properties, densities and microstructures to many binder jetting based AM systems.
Also included in the new issue of PIM International is a special ceramics focus, including a look at some of the latest advances in ceramic Additive Manufacturing.
The 108-page issue includes the following in-depth articles and technical reviews:
Nippon Piston Ring: Leading Japanese MIM producer builds on automotive success
It is thirty years since Japan’s Nippon Piston Ring Co. Ltd. (NPR) first began developing its MIM production capability. The company has since pioneered the use of MIM in key automotive engine systems, from fuel injector components to rocker arm applications.
The following article reviews the company’s growth and presents insight into its most significant component developments, while considering some of the opportunities offered by new MIM applications.
Ceramic Injection Moulding: Binder innovations and Additive Manufacturing open up new opportunities
Ceramic Injection Moulding (CIM) is receiving ever more attention as a process for the production of complex shaped components in high volumes and to tight tolerances. As Dr Karin Hajek from Germany’s Inmatec Technologies GmbH explains, there have to-date been a number of obstacles to the increased adoption of the technology.
The availability of a wider range of binder systems, combined with the opportunities presented by ceramic Additive Manufacturing, may now open the door to a new generation of applications.
Nishimura Advanced Ceramics targets the international PIM feedstock market
This year, Japan’s Nishimura Advanced Ceramics Ltd. celebrates a hundred years of technical ceramics production, having begun with electromagnetic devices and later ceramic insulators, as well as a range of further ceramic products over the intervening period.
The family-run company, now in its fourth generation, was also an early developer of PIM technology in Japan, having begun its development and production of CIM feedstock and parts over thirty years ago. PIM International reports on the company’s ambitions for growth in international markets, in particular with respect to PIM feedstock.
Advanced PIM processes demonstrate the potential for MIM and CIM to reach new markets
A technical session at the Euro PM2017 Congress and Exhibition, held in Milan, October 1-5, 2017, focused on the development of advanced processes for PIM. This report reviews three papers from this session that present the advanced processes required to produce MIM parts with high aspect ratios, to injection mould short-fibre Ceramic Matrix Composites and to manufacture alumina-rich porcelain parts.
Advances in the PIM of Ti-6Al-7Nb and Ti-6Al-4V for biomedical and load bearing applications
A technical session at the Euro PM2017 congress and exhibition, held in Milan, October 1-5 2017, addressed the processing of biocompatible materials by Powder Injection Moulding.
This article reviews three papers from this session that focus on the processing and fatigue behaviour of Ti-6Al-7Nb and Ti-6Al-4V alloys, as well as an investigation into the production of a gas tight platinum-alumina-Ti-6Al-4V feedthrough for implantable medical devices by Powder Injection Moulding.
In-depth industry news
Our 55-page industry news section features all the latest company and business news from the world of MIM and CIM, including:
- New facility openings, mergers and acquisitions, product launches and more…
- Innovative new applications for MIM and CIM highlighted
- Tech reviews: Non-destructive testing of MIM418 superalloy turbine wheels
- Tech review: Vacuum sintering of 17-4 PH stainless steel for orthodontic brackets
- Tech review: NiO-YSZ porous anode support for SOFCs produced by CIM
- Tech review: Influence of backbone binders on the rheological performance of CIM feedstocks
PIM International magazine can be downloaded for free online or purchased in print with a year’s magazine subscription.
A new way to read PIM International online
Beginning with the March 2018 issue, PIM International will be delivered to digital readers in an additional page-flip format, which can be accessed directly on the magazine page. This convenient format offers readers the option to view the magazine in high-resolution without downloading a large PDF file.
The new format is fully searchable by term or company, and scales automatically to fit the mobile, tablet or computer screen it is being viewed on. It also gives readers the option to easily share the magazine with colleagues, friends and others via email, social media or a direct link. This edition is the first in a planned conversion of all back-issues of the magazine to the same format.
Readers who prefer to download the PDF for offline reading can still do so, in single or double-page format, by following the links on the download page.
