Supplier's Category: All Powder Metallurgy & Metal Injection Molding (MIM): Net-shape parts from compacted and sintered metal powders
Powder metallurgy and metal injection molding (MIM) form net-shape or near-net-shape metal parts from compacted and sintered metal powder, avoiding most of the material waste and machining that solid-stock processes require. MIM specifically extends this to complex, small, high-volume geometries by combining powder with a plastic binder for injection molding, then sintering the binder out.
These processes trade off tooling cost against material efficiency — worthwhile once volume is high enough to justify the tooling, and especially attractive for complex small parts that would waste significant material if machined.
- Traditional powder metallurgy: simpler geometries, very high volume, lowest cost per part
- MIM: complex small parts with geometry rivaling plastic injection molding, in metal
- Both: near-net-shape parts minimizing secondary machining
Related terms: powder compaction, sintering, metal injection molding (MIM), binder removal (debinding), net-shape forming, powder metal alloy selection, density control, dimensional shrinkage compensation
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What to check with a powder metal or MIM supplier
Final density and dimensional shrinkage through sintering are the two variables that most affect part performance and accuracy.
Questions to ask
- What density do they achieve for your alloy, and how does that affect mechanical properties versus wrought metal
- How do they control and compensate for sintering shrinkage on tight-tolerance features
- Can they provide material certification for the powder lot used