Component fabrication for medical devices must often enable the manufacture of strong, durable parts in intricate shapes and designs. The ability to mold metal in an injection molding process moves developers much closer to this goal. The fact that the process can be offered relatively quickly m[……]
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A Quick Guide to Metal Injection Molding (MIM)
A variation on the standard injection molding (which uses plastics), metal injection molding (MIM) is a relatively new way of producing complex shapes in large numbers from metals that have a high melting point, such as tool steel and stainless steel that would not be suitable for high-pressure die[……]
Metal Injection Molding Expands Ahead of U.S. GDP
The U.S. metal injection molding industry is steady with annual growth rates up to 5 percent, according to a new report from the members of the Metal Injection Molding Association (MIMA) The U.S. MIM parts market in 2017 was estimated at $367–$420 million.
The MIM industry still includes about 25[……]
Using outsourced MIM parts production for medical and dental components is less costly than buying and operating a machining center in-house
When does it make more sense to use outsourced MIM parts production than to buy and operate a machining center and do the work in-house? MIM is Metal Injection Molding. It is an alternative process instead of machining parts out of raw metal stock. Many original equipment manufacturers of medical, d[……]
MIM vs. PM
PM parts are formed from metal powder that is pressed together in a die and then sintered. Metal injection molding (MIM) is a complementary process that also uses metal particles—just much finer— to produce high-density components with three-dimensional design flexibility. The question of when MIM r[……]
A Basic Design Guide for MIM Components
Although many of these design guidelines are similar to those used for plastic injection molding, there are subtle differences in how MIM components are designed to account for the subsequent thermal processing. For example, wall sections should not exceed a certain thickness to prevent defect forma[……]
FineMIM adds Titanium Metal Injection Molding to its MIM Capabilities
FineMIM adds Titanium Metal Injection Molding (TiMIM) capabilities to its MIM portfolio of materials that include stainless steels, alloys and ceramics in China.
Titanium (Ti) is a high-density strength, highly pliant, highly corrosive-resistant material, which in recent years is seeing ever-grow[……]
How to decrease MIM defects?
Metal Injection Molding (MIM) has historically suffered from part defects, both visible and beneath the surface. Given all that has to go right, from a materials and processing standpoint as a part goes from molding to debinding to sintering, each step introduces the potential for part defects that[……]
Metal Injection Molding of Titanium Alloy Ti–6Al–4V
Titanium and titanium alloys have, as of today, low density, relatively high strength, excellent corrosion resistance in many media and are know to be biocompatible. This combination of properties makes them an excellent choice for application such as watch parts, medical devices, dental parts and[……]
Ti-6Al-4V
Ti-6Al-4V, Grade 5 alloy (UNS R56400), also sometimes called TC4, is the most widely used titanium grade. It is a two phase α+β titanium alloy, with aluminum as the alpha stabilizer and vanadium as the beta stabilizer. This high-strength alloy can be used at cryogenic temperatures up to about 800°F[……]