Compounding Feedstock
Fine metal powders (generally <25 microns in diameter) are combined with a polymer binder system to form a feedstock suitable for injection molding. Kinetics' feedstock is compounded using specific binder and metal powder formulations to control consistency, quality, and dimensional repeatability of parts produced.
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Injection Molding
While standard plastic injection molding machines and molds are used to produce MIM parts, due to the presence of the polymer binder in MIM feedstocks, mold cavities are designed approximately 20% larger than the final part size. Like plastics, MIM molds may have multiple cavities, inserts, slides, unscrewing cores, and hot runner systems. Kinetics can help you determine the most cost effective tooling approach for your application from prototype to production.
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Debinding and Sintering
After molding, green parts are debound and sintered at temperatures up to 2,600°F. During debinding, the polymer binder breaks down and dissipates while the metal particles retain all of the molded features. The metal particles fuse together during sintering and the part shrinks approximately 20% to form a solid metal part.
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