MIM Materials & Properties
MIM components are available in various materials including:
The density and performance of MIM parts are comparable to those of wrought and cast components. Due to the nature of the MIM process, there will be some porosity left in the component after the sintering stage, however, what porosity is left will be very fine and isolated. Even machining or casting will not give 100% dense parts as there will often be inclusions, mainly in cast components.
Generally after the sintering stage the theoretical density of the components we produce will be controlled within the range of 95 - 98% dense. To be gas tight, i.e. to have no interconnected porosity, the density of a component needs to be above 91-92% dense. Parts that we make are currently used in gas analysis and hermetic packaging where the drawings have very stringent tolerances on porosity. We can now produce parts with wall sections as thin as 0.5mm with a leak rate of 10¯10 cm3.s-1 (Atmosphere Helium)
- 300 & 400 series Stainless Steel
- Stainless Steel 17-4
- Kovar
- Nickel Iron
- Iron
- Copper
- 100 Cr6
- Magnetic Alloys
- Hastelloy
- Inconel
- Ceramic
The density and performance of MIM parts are comparable to those of wrought and cast components. Due to the nature of the MIM process, there will be some porosity left in the component after the sintering stage, however, what porosity is left will be very fine and isolated. Even machining or casting will not give 100% dense parts as there will often be inclusions, mainly in cast components.
Generally after the sintering stage the theoretical density of the components we produce will be controlled within the range of 95 - 98% dense. To be gas tight, i.e. to have no interconnected porosity, the density of a component needs to be above 91-92% dense. Parts that we make are currently used in gas analysis and hermetic packaging where the drawings have very stringent tolerances on porosity. We can now produce parts with wall sections as thin as 0.5mm with a leak rate of 10¯10 cm3.s-1 (Atmosphere Helium)
