Materials Science Forum, Vol.426-4, 4233-4238, 2003
Current status of micro powder injection molding
In recent years, Microsystems Technologies products have steadily flooded the worldwide market and it can be predicted that this trend will continue for more than the next ten years. One of the necessary prerequisites is the availability of manufacturing processes suitable for medium or large-scale production. A promising technology to meet this requirement is micro injection molding which has already reached an industrially viable status for polymer materials. Additionally, the development of the so-called MicroPIM process entails a large-scale fabrication technology for metal and ceramic micro components. Examples are micro gear wheels to be applied in precision engineering or test specimens for the evaluation of materials properties in the micrometer range. Presently, the smallest dimensions achievable are 30-50mum in part thickness or minimum structural details of less than 10mum. Theoretical densities of up to 99% were achieved depending on the particular powder applied. Current investigations deal with the development of simulation programs taking into account microspecific features as well as the particular effects which occur in case of processing highly filled fluidics.