Contract manufacturing
is component mass. The mass of a good MIM part is typically under 30g, with the average being 5–15g. The rule of thumb for the size of a MIM part is that it should fit in the palm of your hand. MIM parts can vary from 2mm to 150mm – with the average being around 25mm.
A subcategory of MIM is micro metal injection moulding, which focuses on components that weigh less than a gram and have distinctly intricate features. When designing and manufacturing micro MIM components, heightened awareness must be placed on tooling strategy as well as feedstock and material selection. Micro components require special feedstocks designed to properly mould small features. MIM producers that have in-house feedstock formulation and material expertise are well-positioned to tackle micro components.
What to consider when designing a MIM part? Wall thickness can be a larger concern with MIM when compared with other forms of manufacturing. This is due to alloy material mould flow properties. Walls much smaller than 0.010in will have a difficult time filling and packing completely. This is due to high shear
forces limiting flow and/or air entrapment. While on the subject of wall thickness, a good MIM part will also have a relatively uniform thickness throughout. If a part has drastically different wall thicknesses, then the thinner features will sinter sooner than the thicker areas – causing distortion. One way to alleviate this issue is to core out the thicker areas of the part.
“When evaluating and designing a component for metal injection moulding, one of the most common questions asked is ‘what materials can you MIM’? A good part is typically made from ferrous alloys such as carbon steels, stainless steels, and tool steels.”
A good MIM part will rely on radius corners rather than sharp corners. Sharp internal corners are undesirable because the material can pull a void in those areas during the injection phase. Additionally, Sharp external corners in the part require a sharp internal corner in the tooling, which is very difficult
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