Performance of powder injection molding (PIM) heat sink

In the current development, a new processing technique, powder injection molding (PIM), was used to fabricate aluminum component (aluMIM™) intended for heat sink application. Analysis of sintered properties shows that >93% of the theoretical density was achieved and the thermal property of the aluMIM™ component was also found to be excellent. In addition, the new technique allows more flexibility in geometry compared to that by the conventional processes. Finally, scanning electron microscopy characterization of the sample´s microstructure has also revealed a fine-grained structure, which in turn, provides superior mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and toughness.