Comparison between Micro-Powder Injection Molding and Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing of Metal Powders for the Fabrication of Sintered Components

Original compositions based on iron micro-powders and an organic binder mixture were developed for the fabrication of sintered metallic elements with micro-powder injection molding (µPIM) and material extrusion additive manufacturing of metal powders (MEX). The binder formulation was thoroughly adju...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials 2023-11, Vol.16 (23), p.7268
Main Authors: Siedlecki, Krzysztof, Słoma, Marcin, Skalski, Andrzej
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3-D printers
3D printing
Additive manufacturing
Binder removal
Composite materials
Composition
Decomposition
Extrusion molding
Forming
Grain size
Homogenization
Injection molding
Iron
Laser sintering
Manufacturing
Metal powder products
Metal powders
Polymers
Powder injection molding
Powder metallurgy
Process parameters
Rheological properties
Rheology
Sintering
Sintering (powder metallurgy)
Temperature
Thermal properties
Thermodynamic properties
Three dimensional printing
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Summary:Original compositions based on iron micro-powders and an organic binder mixture were developed for the fabrication of sintered metallic elements with micro-powder injection molding (µPIM) and material extrusion additive manufacturing of metal powders (MEX). The binder formulation was thoroughly adjusted to exhibit rheological and thermal properties suitable for µPIM and MEX. The focus was set on adapting the proper binder composition to meet the requirements for injection/extrusion and, at the same time, to have comparable thermogravimetric characteristics for the thermal debinding and sintering process. A basic analysis of the forming process indicates that the pressure has a low influence on clogging, while the temperature of the material and mold/nozzle impacts the viscosity of the composition significantly. The influence of the Fe micro-powder content in the range of 45-60 vol.% was evaluated against the injection/extrusion process parameters and properties of sintered elements. Different debinding and sintering processes (chemical and thermal) were evaluated for the optimal properties of the final samples. The obtained sintered elements were of high quality and showed minor signs of binder-related flaws, with shrinkage in the range of 10-15% for both the injection-molded and 3D printed parts. These results suggest that, with minor modifications, compositions tailored for the PIM technique can be adapted for the additive manufacturing of metal parts, achieving comparable characteristics of the parts obtained for both forming methods.
ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma16237268