Identification of Design Parameters in Metal Powder Injection Molding

摘要

Powder injection molding (PIM) is used to shape metal or ceramic powders into complicated shapes with a technology identical to plastic injection molding. After molding the plastic phase is removed and the particles are sintered to deliver strength and hardness not attainable in plastics. Production designs fabricated by metal powder injection molding are analyzed for features, such as size, mass, complexity, slenderness, and effective density, to identify the design window for this powder shaping technology. Our procedure uses designs that have already passed the two critical barriers of technical and economic viability. These findings show the key metrics for success that will allow designers to identify if PIM will be a suitable process. Some of the design attributes are correlated; however, contrary to prior teachings, we find three of the attributes clustered to define a design space region most suitable for PIM. Slenderness, mass, and number of features are the best way to identify PIM candidates.