Q & A | Make your manufacturing technology with our micro-MIM

General

Delivery

How long does it take for the mould manufacturing?: The mould making takes approximately 1 – 1.5 months. After receiving the mould, we will submit the first sample in about three to four weeks (if there is no additional secondary process required).
How long does it take for the mould manufacturing?: The mould making takes approximately 1 – 1.5 months. After receiving the mould, we will submit the first sample in about three to four weeks.

Quantity

Do you have a minimum lot size?: No. The minimum lot size could depend on the number of parts you need. However, we can suggest the economic lot size during the DFM discussion.
What is the maximum monthly production?: We are capable of producing more than 1 million units per month.
Do you have a minimum lot size?: No. The minimum lot size could depend on the number of parts you need. However, we can suggest the economic lot size during the DFM discussion.
What is the maximum monthly production?: We are capable of producing more than 1 million units per month.

Characteristics of MIM

What is μ-MIM®︎?

Metal injection moulding is a method of forming metal components by mixing metal powder and binder: injection moulding the mixture into a mould then put in a degreasing and sintering furnace to sinter. Metal injection moulding or MIM process is suitable for mass production of complex shaped metal components.

Micro metal injection moulding or μ-MIM® is a specialised MIM for small and complicated designed metal components’ mass production.

Technology

Dimensions

How tight the tolerance can μ-MIM® achieve?: It depends on the shape of the parts, but we accomplish +/- 0.3 mm while conventional MIM achieves +/- 0.5 mm.
How thin can we design for μ-MIM®?: 0.1 mm in case of the size is smaller than 5 mm with stainless steel.
(Conventional MIM; 0.3 mm partially)

Dimension

Are you able to produce parts larger than 30 mm?: Technically yes, but we are best at smaller than 10 mm components. Thus, most of the time we will not accept over 30 mm size. Please send your specification to us to consider.
Are you providing secondary processes such as machining and polishing?: It depends on your requirement, but we suggest a minimal post-processing strategy. In case of requesting a mirror or a thread line finishing surface etc, we can add secondary processing.
How thin can we design for μ-MIM®?: It depends on the shape of the parts but we accomplished 0.3 mm or less while generally around 0.5 mm thick in the MIM industry.
How tight the tolerance can μ-MIM® achieve?: It depends on the shape of the parts, but we accomplish +/- 0.01 mm while conventional MIM achieves +/- 0.03 mm.

Surface

What level of surface roughness can be achieved?: It depends on the type of metal material and the particle size distribution, however, the Ra ranges from 0.2 to 1.6 μm.
What level of surface roughness can be achieved?: It depends on the type of metal material and the particle size distribution, however, the Ra ranges from 0.35 to 1.6 μm.

Material

Is it possible to use aluminium or aluminium alloy for MIM?: Aluminium is a difficult material to handle in the metal injection moulding or MIM industry due to its low melting point. We can produce some aluminium alloy MIM components, however, other processes can be cheaper to mass produce.
Do you have any experience with precious metal materials such as platinum?: Yes. Our original binder system is capable of handling precious metals such as platinum, iridium, gold, and silver alloys.
What are the materials used in MIM?: Stainless steel is most commonly used in the MIM industry. There are many cases in which the merit is greatly improved by converting the difficult-to-machine materials such as Ti-based alloys.
Can I use materials other than steel for MIM?: Yes, any adequate powder material is accepted for production development. However, please consider the additional examination period for a specific material.
Is it possible to produce tungsten parts by MIM?: We do not produce pure tungsten components in-house. However, we have some experiences with tungsten alloys.
Can you produce metals other than your material repertoire?: Yes, we can, as our R&D is developing new material for MIM production. Please contact us for more details.
What are the materials used in MIM?: Stainless steel is most commonly used in the MIM industry. There are many cases in which the merit is greatly improved by converting the difficult-to-machine materials such as Ti-based alloys.
Can I use materials other than steel for MIM?: Yes, any adequate powder material is accepted for production development. However please consider the additional examination for specific material.

Application

What kind of products or industry can be manufactured with MIM?: We are good at mass producing metal components that require mainly very precise, small, and complex shapes such as medical parts, electronics parts, micro gears, micro nozzles, etc.
What types of gears can be produced by μ-MIM?: Most gear serial production is manufactured by powder metallurgy (PM). Special designed large size gears are produced for the automotive industry. However, if the gear becomes smaller, machining is widely deployed. Machining does not use the mould, so the positional tolerance may not be so precise compared to the injection moulding process. Our micro metal injection moulding (μ-MIM®) specialises in producing gears of modules 0.05 – 0.15 mm for serial production such as bevel gears, mitre gears, helical gears, and internal gears which is difficult to increase the production volume by machining process.

Mould

Are the moulds tooled in-house?: No, we have partners with world-leading mould tooling manufacturers.
Are the moulds tooled in-house?: No, we have partners with world-leading mould tooling manufacturers.
What is the average cost of a mould?: Mould costs vary greatly depending on the shape, size, and cavities. It is approximately the same as what you would pay when manufacturing the same component’s mould with a plastic injection moudling process.
How long is the mould life?: We normally guaranteed 250,000 shots in order to maintain part’s quality stability. After that, the mould in some cases may need to be repaired or modified.