Applicability of different powder and polymer recipes in a new design powder injection molding system

Production methods are changing day by day with the developing technology. Based on this idea, a new production logic and machine have been developed owing to polymer-supported powder injection molding (PIM). The ability of this newly designed machine (newPIM) to mold metal or ceramic powders supported by polymer binders is discussed in this study. By taking advantage of the polymer properties such as fluidity and sticking, powders are molded with a specially developed machine with high gas pressure in certain sizes. In this study, in which many parameters are processed from feedstock (FS) production to molding; metals Mg/316L and ceramics SiC/SiO2 powders have been used in different powder sizes and structures. In the newPIM process, polymers were included in four different recipes. Paraffin wax (PW), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polypropylene (PP), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) have been employed in the FS with different combinations. From FS production to the molding stage; pressure, microstructure examination, weight loss, and density change features were investigated. The result indicated that the best FS and molding was obtained by the PEG+PMMA polymer composition formed with a spherical powder with a diameter below 40 µm. The compression force of the FS in this composition was observed at approximately 3.4k N values.

Dimensional Stability and Process Capability of an Industrial Component Injected with Recycled Polypropylene

The usage of recycled polymers for industrial purposes arises as one of the most promising methods of reducing environmental impact and costs associated with scrapping parts. This paper presents a systematic study of the dimensional stability of a raw and 100% recycled polypropylene subjected to realistic environmental conditions occurring along its working life. The component studied is an internal part of an induction hob assembly. Industrial samples manufactured with both materials, in the same mold, and in the same injection machine, are subjected to ejection conditions, storage conditions (50 °C), and extreme performance conditions (80 °C). Induced dimensional changes are registered and analyzed using a coordinate measuring machine, and a tactile sensing probe. To verify the process capability of the samples manufacturing, C_p and C_pk values are calculated to evaluate the suitability of the recycled material as an alternative. Results conclude that, although the use of recycled material implies slight differences in terms of dimensional stability due to the changes induced in the polymer structure, these differences are not significant enough to affect the injection process capability. Therefore, recycling arises as one effective method to reduce both overruns associated with the consumption of raw polypropylene material and its environmental impact.