Powder metal injection molding (PIM) or metal injection molding (MIM) is a manufacturing process wherein a metal or ceramic in fine powder form is mixed with polymer binder material to form a "feedstock." The feedstock is then heated to a temperature above the melting point of the binder, which enables you to inject the mixture into a mold to produce highly complex metal products. You can then subject the molded products to secondary operations (such as debinding and sintering) to remove the binder material and to increase the strength of the final product. You can simulate the PIM process to predict weld lines, air traps, fill pattern, and other phenomena typical in metal injection. In addition, metal injection simulations can predict the particle concentration throughout the mold. Particle concentration predictions can help you identify "black lines" defects, which are aesthetically undesirable. Simulations can enable you to evaluate part and mold design changes to minimize or eliminate these defects. You can perform a PIM simulation just by selecting a suitable metal injection molding material; no additional setup is required. The material briefcase DS-InjectionMolding.3dxml does not include any sample metal injection molding materials, but you can define one of your own. Metal particle injection materials must have the following material options specified:
When a metal particle injection simulation is complete, you can plot contours for particle concentration at the end of the fill and pack simulations. | |||||||