Powder Injection Molding an Alternative Method in the Manufacturing of Parts for Vehicles / Injekcijsko brizganje prahu, alternativna metoda za proizvodnjo delov za vozila
Joamin Gonzalez-Gutierrez, Igor Emri
ANALI PAZU, 4 (2014), št. / No. 2, strani / pages 76-81
Celotno besedilo / Full text (PDF)
Abstract: Powder injection molding (PIM) is one of the most versatile methods for manufacturing small complex shaped components from metal, ceramic powders for the use in many applications. Interesting applications of PIM include the automotive and aerospace industries. PIM can be used to combine multiple parts into a single part with complex geometry, and parts are lighter since porosity remains in the final part while the fatigue resistance increases. Therefore, it can be said that PIM can help reduce the weight of moving vehicles, which is a major concern from the environmental and economic point of view. One of the main limitations of current PIM technology is the long debinding time, which is one of the steps within the process. This has been partially solved by introducing binder systems that undergo catalytic sublimation. However, current catalytic binders have the main problem of high viscosity. In this study, two ways to decrease the viscosity of PIM feedstock materials with polyoxymethylene were investigated. The first way was to reduce the average molecular weight of the binder and the second one to select a polydisperse particle size distribution with high maximum packing fraction.
Key words: powder injection molding, viscosity, feedstock, packing fraction.
Povzetek: Injekcijsko brizganje prahu (PIM) je eden izmed najbolj vsestranskih načinov za proizvodno majhnih, kompleksnih delov iz kovinskega ali keramičnega prahu. Ena izmed zanimivih aplikacij PIM-a je vesoljska industrija, saj se PIM lahko uporablja za združevanje več delov v skupen del s kompleksno geometrijo. Z uporabo PIM tehnologije lahko torej dosežemo manjšo poroznost in povišano odpornost na utrujanje končnih izdelkov. Iz tega stališča je mogoče reči, da se lahko PIM pomaga zmanjšati težo vesoljska vozila, kar predstavlja velik problem z okoljskega in ekonomskega vidika v tej industriji. Eden izmed glavnih omejitev sedanje PIM tehnologije je čas potreben za odstranjevanja veziva, ki je eden izmed korakov v procesu. To je delno rešeno z uporabo veziva iz polioksimetilena, ki katalitično sublimira. Slaba stran uvedbe tega veziva pa je povišana viskoznost. V sklopu tega prispevka raziskujemo dva načina za zmanjšanje viskoznosti PIM surovine na osnovi POM-a. Prvi način je zmanjšati povprečno molekulsko maso veziva in drugi, da izberemo polidisperzno porazdelitev velikosti delcev z visokim deležem gostote pakiranja.
Ključne besede: injekcijsko brizganje prahu, viskoznost, surovina, gostota pakiranja.