What Materials Would Be The Future Trend Of Metal Injection Molding?

With the development of MIM technology, we’ve used different kinds of material on this technology such as Iron Based, Low Alloy Steel, and Stainless Steel became the most popular material for applying. In the nearly future, we’re gonna believe more and more materials would be used in this advanced metal parts manufacturing process. So we list some materials that seem most likely to be used in Metal Injection Molding(MIM).

1. Nickel-free stainless steel
In the currently widely used medical austenitic stainless steel 316L and 17-4PH, nickel is an important alloying element. The main role of nickel is to form a stable austenitic stainless steel structure, thereby improving the corrosion resistance of stainless steel, plasticity, weldability and toughness properties, under room temperature stable austenitic stainless steel can also be made with non-magnetic .

However, nickel is a potential allergic factor, and a large number of clinical manifestations in the West confirm that nickel and its compounds can be harmful to humans. The most common damage is contact dermatitis, eczema occurs in patients with strong allergies.

At present, the EU has issued a ban on nickel, which be fully implemented by the end of 2016. The alternative is to use high-nitrogen, nickel-free chromium-manganese-molybdenum steel, which is exactly the strength of MIM technology.


2. Copper and brass
Metallic applications are magnetically non-conductive and are good materials for 3C products. Due to the MIM technology is economy and affordability, copper alloys should be a good option, but in the past few people concered sintering of copper alloys, mainly because the copper alloy plumbing equipment can be achieved through die-casting, the sintering of pure copper can not be done with normaly sinter furnace, the pressure must be greater than one atmosphere above the high-pressure sintering furnace, not the general factory can be set, mainly copper (and its alloys), low vapor pressure, vaporization has not yet reached the sintering temperature is quite serious, in addition to easy get contaminated of the furnace wall, the product is not easy to burn dense.

PIM International magazine 2015 first issue reported that the world's largest MIM / PM powder consumption in mainland China and Taiwan, but apparently only emphasis on heat pipes and heat sinks, and a small part of the bronze self-lubricating bearings and filters. For copper and Copper alloy MIM products, still to be developed. Normally, this material is expected to have the opportunity to quickly gain in value through the adoption of Apple computers.


3. Titanium and titanium alloys
Titanium and titanium alloys have always been the star material, but the price is too high, the source of powder is limited, so industrial applications are confined to the aviation buckle, special parts, and medical devices and implants, a small part of the wearable products , But due to the appearance of titanium is easy to lead to decoration is not good enough looking, a lot of stainless steel polishing to PVD is black, that only a thin layer of titanium surface, not enough to be called titanium. We also look forward to market development and nickel-free stainless steel era, high strength and relatively low proportion of titanium has its excellent mechanical and human affinity, to look forward to the extensive use of MIM titanium parts.


4. Functional metals and ceramics
Since 2017 the most discussed, most mysterious and the popular, I believe that is a functional material, due to many special applications, related materials such as various non-ferrous metal alloys, functional ceramics and so on. For example, soft magnetic materials such as cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy (CoCrMo) or cobalt-iron (Hiper Co), ceramics are even more varied.