Innovative process to die compact injection molding powders

摘要

A new economical and innovative process has been developed to die compact injection molding (spherical) powders with low amount of polymer (1 wt. %). The successful compaction of spherical particles was achieved due to uniform coating of the polymer on the particles. The process uses polymer in emulsion form in water. A brief description of the process is presented in this paper. Initial compaction studies carried out with admixed powders of 316L stainless steel and 1 wt. % polymer showed maximum green densities up to 84 % theoretical at compaction pressure of 1380 MPa (200 kpsi). The compacted samples were successfully sintered to near full density (>96% theoretical density) after heating to 1300℃ for 60 minutes in a hydrogen atmosphere.