The brief process introduction of MIM process.

Firstly, the solid metal or ceramic powder is mixed with the organic binder to obtain the feed. 

 granulation, the feed is injected into the mold cavity by the injection molding machine under the heating and plasticizing state (about 150 ℃) to solidify and form the injection molding blank.

Then, the binder in the injection molding blank is removed by chemical or thermal decomposition met

hod. 

Finally, the product is sintered and densified by vacuum furnace or atmosphere furnace, and some products requiring post-treatment are subject to post-process treatment, Get the final shape and performance of the product.

Metal injection molding process is characterized by high reliability, simple process, high precision , good mechanical properties, fast molding speed, and has more advantages than traditional machining process. Therefore, metal injection molding products have been increasingly used, mainly in aerospace, automotive, electronics, household appliances and other fields, and gradually become the main production process of metal parts.

Metal Injection Molding Design Principles

1.Uniform wall thickness;

2.Sintering support;

3.sharp corners and arc transition at corners;

4. design holes and grooves;

5.be designed to concave and sink;

6.Can design thread;

7.Consider stiffeners and connecting walls;

8.Can design knurling, printing, and engraving trademarks;

9.Select the shape and position of the feed inlet;

10.Pay attention to pits and weld marks;

11.Surface coating or electroplating;

12.Heat treatment;

13.Secondary processing;

MIM is usually suitable for products with the following characteristics:

Complex shape: MIM allows free design of 3D shape like injection molding. Because MIM is a forming process,

The additional product shape will not increase the cost. If the weight is reduced through shape design, the cost will decrease,

This makes MIM one of the ideal ways to combine more than one independent part into a multi-functional part.

MIM design rules are very close to injection molding, so it is easy to adapt to metal parts with complex three-level shape.

Dimensional precision: the near-net forming precision of MIM is usually ± 0.5% of the size. Some dimensional features can reach ± 0.3%.

Like other technologies, high precision means higher cost, so the size is recommended if it can meet the requirements

The tolerance is moderately relaxed. Tolerances that cannot be directly met by MIM can be realized by subsequent processing.

Thin wall products: wall thickness less than 6 mm is suitable for MIM. Thicker outer wall is also acceptable,

But the process time will increase a lot and the material cost will increase. Thin wall less than 0.5 mm can also be achieved by using MIM,

Sishan Industrial can produce 0.2mm ultra-thin wall products (but it depends on the specific product shape).

Weight and size: MIM is suitable for parts with weight less than 100g, and less than 50g is the most common application.

However, parts weighing up to 250g can also be processed by MIM process. Raw materials are the key cost factor of the MIM process.

In the early stage of MIM product design, the weight of components is often reduced as much as possible. Like plastic products,

The weight of components can be reduced through the core and bracket without affecting the integrity of the product.

MIM is outstanding in terms of small and micro components, and it is also possible to weigh less than 0.1 g.

Products with a length of more than 250mm can also do this.

Batch size: For MIM products, mold and early product development process are necessary for the MIM process,

Therefore, for small batches of products (annual demand is less than thousands), it usually affects the decision-making process.

MIM can increase its output from tens of thousands of pieces per year to tens of millions of pieces per year, which can be realized very economically.

Wide range of raw materials: MIM can handle many materials, including ferroalloy, stainless steel, copper, KOVAR alloy, superalloy, hard alloy, etc.

Metal Injection Molding Design Principles

1.Uniform wall thickness;

2.Sintering support;

3.sharp corners and arc transition at corners;

4. design holes and grooves;

5.be designed to concave and sink;

6.Can design thread;

7.Consider stiffeners and connecting walls;

8.Can design knurling, printing, and engraving trademarks;

9.Select the shape and position of the feed inlet;

10.Pay attention to pits and weld marks;

11.Surface coating or electroplating;

12.Heat treatment;

13.Secondary processing;

Comparison between MIM and Other Processes

Harber Industrial is a leading one-stop manufacturer of Metal Injection Molding (MIM) in China, providing metal injection molded components to the consumer electronics, automotive parts, medical, aerospace, and industrial sectors for over 10 years.

We have two factory in China, one is in Shandong Province and another is in Gongguan, Guangdong Province.

Our advantage is that we have experienced engineers who can produce parts with complex shapes and high precision, but the price is very appropriate. We had made thousands of MIM parts.

We could help develop MIM parts with material  iron base-MIM4605, Fe2Ni, Fe4Ni, FeSi3,17-4PH and stainless steel like SS420, 304L, 316L.

Could you send some 2D and 3D drawings with material, hardness, quantity, surface treatment for quoting please?

Hope having a chance to cooperate. Please contact us sales@harber-mim.com at any time.