Production of Porous Metal Materials by Injection and Extrusion Moulding

摘要

This study describes the net-shape manufacturing of porous metal components by the metal injection moulding (MIM) process. The powder space holder method was applied to the MIM process. In addition to metal powder and thermoplastic binders, coarse spherical materials made of thermoplastics were used as lost material for formation of porous structures in MIM components. The compact-ability, porosity of sintered body and shrinkage percentage of specimens fabricated by the metal extrusion moulding (MEM) and the MIM process were investigated in comparison. The effects of fraction of space hold particle on the pore size and mechanical properties of porous sintered body were also investigated. From these experimental results, it was concluded that the micro-scale fine metal porous materials can be fabricated with optimizing the fraction of spherical materials for spaces and sintering conditions.