Titanium Metal Injection Molding Process
Titanium metal injection molding (TiMIM) is a technique for forming high volumes of small parts with complex geometries. Titanium alloy powder and thermoplastic binder are forced through a heated barrel to a nozzle, and then forced into a mold. Subsequent debinding and sintering removes all of the binder and densifies the part. Post-sintering processing removes the residual porosity, creating a uniform and pore-free product. Final parts are hermetic and can be used in application that require high hermeticity.
Some of the biggest things we do are very, very small. JSMIM can produce parts as thin as .04” and as thick as 0.5” with weights ranging from 0.1g to 100g. Our titanium injection molding process densifies parts to +99.5%. The TiMIM process produces parts with incredible tolerances (±0.3%) and consistent surface finishes. Surgical applications are generally very demanding from a surface finish perspective, and this can be driven by aesthetic and functional considerations. JSMIM has many different polishing techniques to satisfy our customers’ product requirements. Surface finish is a tremendously important consideration, and sometimes a single part will have different surface finish requirements, depending on the part’s functionality.
A special binder developed for TiMIM offers good wetting with powder, high fluidity high purity, which can effectively reduce the number of impurities after sintering. When used with optimised process parameter, the production of titanium and titanium alloy MIM parts with properties that meet international standards can be achieved.
TiMIM uses less material. Parts manufactured via Titanium Metal Injection Molding use nearly 100% of the metal powder, better material utilization translates to more cost savings. In many cases, components are net shape eliminating the need for any secondary operations.
Lower production expense. TiMIM is 20-50% more cost effective than other manufacturing processes like CNC machining, casting and additive manufacturing. With ideal volumes ranging from 10,000 to 10,000,000, the higher the volumes, the greater the savings.
Intricate features. TiMIM allows the freedom to design smaller, elaborate parts. Desired features such as ribs, bosses, grooves and threads are just the beginning of possibilities.
Secondary Possibilities. JSMIM’ TiMIM parts behave identically to titanium conventionally manufactured and are compatible with all secondary operations such as CNC machining, surface finishing, passivation and anodizing.
Superior Materials. Our Ti-6Al-4V, Grade 5 material complies with the chemistry and mechanical property requirements of many ASTM specifications. Other titanium grades are available.
Consistency. With a validated TiMIM process and over 10 years of experience in powder metallurgy, JSMIM provides TiMIM components that are extremely consistent in density, strength and dimension. Less variability leads to lower costs and lower lead times.