A NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF METAL INJECTION MOULDING

Metal injection moulding (MIM) is already it well-established and promising technology for the mass production of small. complex, near-net-shape products. The dimensions and mechanical properties of MIM products are influenced by the feedstock characteristics, the process parameters of the injection moulding, as well as the debinding and the sintering. Numerical simulations are a very important feature of the beginning of any product or technology development. In the article two different techniques for measuring the rheological properties of MIM feedstocks are presented and compared. It was established that capillary rheometers are more appropriate for MIM feedstocks, while oil the other hand. parallel-plate rheometers are only Suitable for shear rates lower than 10 s(-1). Later on we used genetic algorithms to determine the model coefficients for some numerical simulation software. The results of the simulation of the filling phase and a comparison with the experimental results are presented in the article.