DefinePK

Abstract

Metal injection molding (MIM) is preferred choice for mass production of intricate and complex parts. However, machining of intricate and complex mold for low volume of part production could be very time consuming, skill intensive and expensive. For low volume requirement of MIM parts, typically for prototyping, design validation and visual inspection, mold experiences small number of MIM cycles and once demand is met, mold is rendered useless. Contrary to traditional machining, polymer molds made through additive manufacturing (AM) process, called Rapid Tooling (RT), could comparatively be a swift and economic approach. For low to medium number of MIM cycles, 3D printed polymer molds could potentially yield performance, comparable with machined metal mold. Present study investigates enhancement of various approaches for 3D printed polymer molds for their potential use in MIM. Consequently, 3D printed polymer molds proved promising for prototype and low volume manufacturing of MIM parts.