Development and characterisation of a biosourced feedstock of superalloy in metal injection moulding process

In the metal injection moulding process the binder plays the most important role. It provides fluidity of the feedstock and strength to keep the moulded shape. The goal of this study is to develop an environmentally friendly feedstock of superalloy Inconel 718. For this different binders formulations based on polyethylene glycol and biosourced polymers were studied. Polylactic acid was investigated as biosourced polymer due to his miscibility with the PEG. The results are compared to a standard formulation using polypropylene. The chemical and rheological behaviour of the binder formulation during mixing, injection and debinding process were investigated. Moreover, a powder of superalloy Inconel 718 was chosen to produce a feedstock. The feedstock was characterised like the binders and the interactions between the powder and the binders was also studied. The results show the well adapted formulation of polymer binder to produce a superalloy Inconel 718 feedstock.