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itself hasn’t melted. The mixture is then injected into a mold, resulting in what we term a green part: the mixture has been shaped by the mold but the metal content is still solid—it’s just held in place by the binder. The green part is then put into a sintering furnace and the binder bakes off, while the metal particles are heated just enough to touch and adhere directly to each other. If the furnace gets too hot, the metal would melt and the part would lose its shape, but with precise heating, the particles touch and sinter together to create a net-shape part. “There’s a shrinkage factor because of the binder removal—the part will be 15–25% smaller than when it went into the furnace. Maximizing the metal-tobinder ratio, controlling flow and finessing the amount of shrinkage are areas that call for expertise. The benefits over machining a part include saving time and saving raw material because you’re creating a net-shape part. In the sweetspot of using MIM, the process is 50% of the cost of creating the same part through machining raw metal. “MIM is playing a role in keeping some medical devices relevant in the current trend toward disposables. Our MIM technology is a runaway train right now, in terms of demand, because the whole industry is looking to MIM to try to wring cost out of the system. Both health care reform in the US and Europe and the need to compete on cost in the developing world are forcing the OEMs to find ways to dramatically reduce costs. They know they’ve got to start looking at more innovative technologies, and MIM is on the list.” They’ve come a long way—I think they initially had strength issues—a laser-sintered part would be less strong than its machined counterpart—but I understand that they’ve come a long way. A process such as direct metal sintering could be The Advance of Additive “Additive manufacturing is another innovative technology that has been interesting to see being developed. May 2013 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 85
Materials Photo courtesy ATW Companies Stainless steel surgical scissors component made via metal injection molding—MIM—at Parmatech. considered a rival to MIM if it was being used for product runs of say 5000–15,000/year range. "I think they initially had strength issues— a laser-sintered part would be less strong than its machined counterpart—but I understand that they’ve come a long way." "I see additive right now as being used for lower-volume, mass-customization niches; it offers the flexibility of making 3000 of something this year and 2000 of something different the next year. Right now, we’re a high-volume player—we’re involved with major companies needing higher volumes.” ME More on Additive Manufacturing See “Additive Manufacturing: A Custom Solution for the Medical Industry,” which appeared in the April issue, at www.MfgEngMedia.com. Want More Information ATW Companies Ph: 401-739-0740 Web site: www.atwcompanies.com May 2013 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 87
Page 1 and 2: Photo courtesy Seco Tools Materials
Page 3 and 4: Materials “Those higher levels we
Page 5: Materials second in size only to or

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