Influence of Sintering Conditions with Post Treatments on the Properties of CoCrMo Alloy Produced by MIM

摘要

As titanium alloys, CoCrMo is a well known alloy widely used by implantable devices manufacturers due to its properties (biocompatibility, wear strength, etc....). Nevertheless, this alloy is expensive and not easily machinable. Thus, MIM (Metal Injection Moulding) process, the near net shape manufacturing method relevant for small to moderate size and complex shape components, is an attractive way for mass production. Indeed, MIM technology is a cost-effective and flexible manufacturing technique. Consequently, MIM CoCrMo parts have been sintered in different conditions (atmosphere, temperature...). After sintering step, heat treatment with post-HIP treatment have been realized on several samples. The best results (density, mechanical properties, microstructure ...) are obtained in 100% nitrogen sintering atmosphere with heat and post-HIP treatments. At last, these results are in conformity with international standard (ASTM F 2886-10) and revealed that MIM-CoCrMo alloy is comparable to wrought CoCrMo alloy.