Isotropic forming of porous structures via metal injection molding

Metal injection molding (MIM) is a near net-shape process that offers the unique ability to manufacture porous components with homogeneous porosity, pore structure and permeability. MIM is a process that can significantly reduce production cost when large quantities of components with complex shape need to be delivered. In this study, MIM is used to produce porous 316L stainless steel structure from both water and gas atomized powders. The porous components made by MIM were characterized to evaluate their suitability for small pore structure applications. The porous structures were analyzed for porosity, pore size, permeability, and thermal conductivity as a function of powder type and processing conditions. A typical MIM powder (<20 μm) processed at 50 vol% loading in a binder system produced a uniform pore structure with a permeability of less than 1·10−13 m2 and a maximum pore radius of less than 5 μm. Water-atomized powder proved to be better suited for low-solids-loading metal injection molding (<50 vol% loading) since its irregular shape provided greater strength and fewer defects during the molding and debinding process steps. Measurements of thermal conductivity show that the water-atomized powder had less thermal conductivity (∼2 W/m-K) than the gas-atomized powder (∼3 W/m-K). This study shows that MIM is a suitable process that can be used to manufacture functional porous structures that require isotropic pore size and complex shape. C 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.