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Metal injection moulding grows up
PM
TECHNOLOGY
Metal injection moulding grows up he m a r k e t for m e t a l injec-
T tion m o u l d e d (MIM) p a r t s will be w o r t h $0.5-$1.0 billion by 1995, this is w h a t t h e i n d u s t r y believed four years ago. The e s t i m a t e s came from G o r h a m I n t e r n a t i o n a l I n c of Gorham, Maine, USA, a t its 2nd International Conference on Metal Injection Molded Parts, held in San Diego, California, in February 1987. Industry predictions have b e e n revised downwards conside r a b l y s i n c e t h e n . The MIM m a r k e t in t h e USA a t p r e s e n t is w o r t h $30-40 million, Leander F. P e a s e III of Powder-Tech Associates, N o r t h Andover, Massachusetts, told delegates a t t h e 6 t h G o r h a m Advanced Materials I n s t i t u t e MIM meeting held in San Diego earlier this year. In E u r o p e t h e i n d u s t r y is even more limited. Pease e s t i m a t e s t h a t it m a y b e w o r t h $4-5 m i l l i o n for s t e e l p a r t s , a n d maybe a little more for hardmetal. In J a p a n , according to Takahiso Koshida of Kawasaki Steel, a n e s t i m a t e d $24.76 million of MIM p a r t s was sold in 1990. In 1989 t h e sales figure was $11.23 million. But h a s MIM really failed to live up to its promise, a n d how m u c h of t h a t w a s g e n u i n e promise a n d not j u s t hype. At FIGURE 1: Position of metal injection moulding in the time~technology development cycle.
o, o
TIME 24 MPR May 1991
TRENDS
this year's meeting: one US MIM p a r t s m a k e r r e p o r t e d t h a t its sales t h i s y e a r will be $7-8 million, 100% growth o n t h e previous year, General Motor's told us t h a t MIM h a s been used in automotive parts; users w h o praised MIM at t h e 1987 meeting c a m e b a c k to e x t o l t h e virtues of t h e technology;, a n d m a n y if n o t all of t h e technical questions posed four years ago seem to h a v e b e e n resolved. MIM is beginning to grow up.
The user's point of view By using two MIM parts, his c o m p a n y h a d saved nearly $650 000, J o h n Davis of Pitney Bowes told delegates in 1987. How does t h e c o m p a n y feel a b o u t t h e process today?. The compon e n t b u s i n e s s u n i t b a s e d in S t a m f o r d , C o n n e c t i c u t , says t h a t MIM will have a m a j o r i m p a c t on p a r t s m a n u f a c t u r i n g as we know it today. P i t n e y Bowes i n t r o d u c e d MIM w h e n it was u n a b l e to m a k e k n i v e s for a m a i l i n g machine using conventional powder metallurgy (PM). The MIM p a r t s held t h e i r tolerances a n d were cheaper. From t h a t p o i n t , Davis says, in h o u s e s t a n d a r d s h a d to be developed which would reflect t h e scope of t h e material used a n d some of t h e process fabrication requirements. Also, t r a i n i n g for Pitney Bowes p e r s o n n e l h a d to b e organized. This was a massive t a s k ; MIM t e c h n o l o g y w a s s h r o u d e d i n secrecy, D a v i s claims, a n d t h i s h a d to b e c h a n g e d before Pitney Bowes could look a t t h e possibility of using MIM p a r t s routinely. The c o m p a n y b r o u g h t in e x p e r t s from outside a n d t r a i n e d managers, a n d design, process, standards and metallurgical engineers in every aspect of t h e process. Has t h e t r a i n i n g b r o u g h t results in t e r m s of t h e n u m b e r of MIM p a r t s used? Davis says it has. In 1986 Pitney Bowes h a d two MIM p a r t s in production. By 1987/88 seven MIM p a r t s were u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n of which t h r e e m a d e it to t h e prototype stage. But n o n e of t h e were p u t into production because the m a c h i n e s t h e y were d e s t i n e d for b e c a m e obsolete. In 1989/ 90 a f u r t h e r nine p a r t s were identified as being suitable for
p r o d u c t i o n by MIM, six of t h e s e were p r o t o t y p e d a n d all six m a d e it into production. The d e v e l o p m e n t of MIM technology will parallel t h a t of plastics, says Davis. Costs will fail as t h e level of technology increases. People are beginning to talk a b o u t t h e technology, r a t h e r t h a n s p r e a d t h e belief t h a t MIM is 'black magic'. The process is on a n u p w a r d s climb. Do o t h e r users agree with Davis' vision of a n u p w a r d climb for MIM? Allen Kass of E a s t m a n Kodak, Rochester, New York, says t h a t his c o m p a n y believes t h a t MIM can be cost effectively a p p l i e d for c o m p o n e n t s produced in q u a n t i t i e s of 20005000 a year. Present applications of MIM a t t h e c o m p a n y include: - - mechanical c o m p o n e n t s t h a t t r a n s f e r linear a n d rotational m o t i o n , s u c h as t r a n s f e r m o t i o n from solenoids used in office copiers; --sliding components where wear r e s i s t a n c e is critical, for e x a m p l e t h e c l i n c h e r a n d anvil used to guide wire for t h e s t a p l e r in a copier, and -- complex structural p a r t s like a c r a n k diverter used in a copier. If MIM is to make m ~ o r inroads into t h e market, says Kass, t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s m u s t provide: a n i n d u s t r y wide d e s i g n guide; m a t e r i a l s specification; stronger c o m m i t m e n t to low a n d medium volume production; a n d competitive pricing. A n o t h e r e n t h u s i a s t for t h e technology is Andrew Strong of Colt Manufacturing. "MIM h a s e n a b l e d us to make o u r best p a r t s ever", h e claims. H a n d g u n m a k e r Colt, which was p a r t of Colt F i r e a r m s Division u n t i l M a r c h 1990, also t u r n e d to MIM in desperation, this time to cut costs. But getting t h e p a r t s i m p l e m e n t e d was a battle, says Strong. The Hartford, Connecticut b a s e d firm successfully t e s t e d a MIM disconnector p a r t in 1983, a n d finally in late 1984 its conservative engineering division conceded that: the cost reduction associated with the p a r t is significant; t h e surface finish is superior to t h e c u r r e n t m a c h i n e d part; a n d t h e dimensions should be more consistent from p a r t to p a r t t h a n t h e machined disconnector. The p a r t was eventually introduced in 1988, a l o n g w i t h a MIM
PM
TECHNOLOGY
TABLE 1: Cost savings per part obtained
with MIM at Colt Manufacturing.
magazine catch for t h e Model 0. 1911 0.45 calibre h a n d g u n . The i n t r o d u c t i o n of MIM to Colt was a long, tedious a n d frustrating endeavour, says Strong. " B u t t h e process h a s given us comp o n e n t s of superior quality a n d reliability, a n d worry free days. The cost savings we have recognized have been substantial e n o u g h to keep o u r h a n d g u n prices a t a reasonable level." Details of t h e MIM p a r t s prod u c e d a t Colt, a n d t h e cost savings achieved are shown in Table 1. But for m a n y of t h e delegates MIM will n o t have 'made it' until it is used to produce automotive components. Its pe-
26 MPR May 1991
TRENDS
n e t r a t i o n into this m a r k e t w a s The producer's point e x a m i n e d by Allan McMillan of of view General Motors, Warren, Michigan. He b r o u g h t t h e meeting a m i x t u r e of good a n d b a d news. There h a s been p e n e t r a t i o n of Profit seemed to be t h e key issue t h e automotive m a r k e t by MIM, a t s t a k e for t h e MIM p a r t s producers. In 1987 t h e meeting h e reported, b u t n o t much. h a d argued over t h e technology, In fact, g r o u n d m a y even have b e e n lost. In 1989 MIM w h e t h e r t h e Wiech process was b e t t e r t h a n t h e Rivers process, was used to m a k e a steering c o l u m n p a r t f o r t h e B u i c k w h a t size p a r t s could be produced by MIM, etc. In 1991 it Regatta. This component, p a r t discussed w h e t h e r a MIM p a r t s of t h e turn, signal, cruise control p r o d u c e r could m a k e a reasona n d h e a d l i g h t d i m m e r assembly, able profit. Metal injection w a s o r i g i n a l l y m a d e in two moulding has moved from pieces from 1018 steel. The b e i n g a novel t e c h n o l o g y to MIM p a r t was a complete replabeing a m a n u f a c t u r i n g technic e m e n t assembly, which simplique. Today, c o m p a n i e s are in fied t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g process, improved t h e p a r t quality in MIM b e c a u s e t h e y can m a k e c o m p o n e n t s profitably, not bet e r m s of d i m e n s i o n a l control, cause they t h i n k it is a 'neat' a n d significantly reduced p a r t technology. But can they make cost. However, t h e forged p a r t money, a n d h o w much? The first h a s again become c h e a p e r t h a n speaker to a d d r e s s these cont h e MIM p a r t a n d GM h a s cerns was conference c h a i r m a n c h a n g e d back, Bill Verduzco. McMillan says t h a t t h e curVerduzco used to r u n Multi r e n t s t a t u s of MIM in automoMaterial Molding, p a r t of Fine tive applications r e p r e s e n t s no Particle Technology Corp. Currbig surprise to him. There are a ently he r u n s Tech Trans which few a p p l i c a t i o n s in u s e a n d is involved in t h e technology t h e r e are m a n y p a r t s u n d e r t r a n s f e r of MIM. development. He says t h e r e are four types The critical issues in t h e use of MIM producer, one making of MIM a r e t h e a b i l i t y t o p r o p r i e t a r y products, a n o t h e r produce complex net shape ferrous parts, on t h e plus side, w h i c h m a n u f a c t u r e s p r o d u c t s and, on t h e m i n u s side, t h e cost for o t h e r divisions of t h e s a m e of material, says McMillan. He company, j o i n t v e n t u r e s a n d job shops. Profitability declines as believes t h a t t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t are best suited for MIM you go down this list. A m o u l d e r who makes proapplication r i g h t now are in t h e prietary p r o d u c t s h a s freedom fuel systems, steering column of design, freedom of alloy a n d systems and brake systems. These require high d i m e n s i o n a l v a l u e a d d e d p r o d u c t s . Gross profit margins m a y be as high q u a l i t y a n d c o m p l e x compoas 75% a n d are often 40-50%. nents. Transmission compoC o m p a n i e s w h i c h have successn e n t s a n d h a r d w a r e assemblies fully p u r s u e d this route include m a y also offer opportunities. Progress h a d been achieved Millet Sights which m a k e s gun sights. a n d M c M i l l a n says t h a t h e Making p r o d u c t s for o t h e r e x p e c t s to see a n u m b e r of a u t o a p p l i c a t i o n s of MIM in divisions, such as Blount (formerly Omark) does, is also a p r o d u c t i o n soon. In his opinion "MIM will be best utilized by good business to be in. Profitplaying to clear advantages, i.e. ability is high a n d t h e m o u l d e r h a s considerable design freeperformance, c o m p l e x p a r t capability, quality a n d simplicity of dom. The l a t t e r two options look p r o d u c t a n d process". less attractive. A j o i n t v e n t u r e But does the injection can work well a n d give m e d i u m moulding industry really w a n t to high profit, says Verduzco, to become a m a j o r supplier to t h e automotive industry?. McMil- especially if it s t a r t s with a n lan told Metal Powder Report ongoing product. B u t it m u s t have p r o p e r capitalization a n d t h a t h e believed t h a t t h e indut e c h n i c a l expertise. At a j o b stry was too small to cope with shop? Profitability is very low, t h e d e m a n d s m a d e by c a r makers, a n d m i g h t regret its a r o u n d 7-10%. Bearing in m i n d t h a t it costs in t h e region of desire to be a player in this $750 000 for capital e q u i p m e n t market. + t h e cost of buying technology
PIVI T E ( ; H N ( ) L O G Y
~ RENDS
or a licence + working capital of the same amountagaln, to set up a job shop, is this level of profit e n o u g h for p e o p l e to invest? Good applications yield high profit, Verduzco claimed. His advice to the industry', develop good applications. His definition of a good application is: parts which are small, complex, under 30 g if possible and made from an easily reducible alloy such as Ni-Fe. By this time the conference wanted to know why, if Verduzco's advice was so good, Multi Material Molding was no longer in business. It was left to Colonel Kim of Fine Particle Technology to explain. Multi Material Molding was profitable and was successful, he said, it was closed for political reasons. After the death of Ray Weieh, who developed and patented the Weich process, Fine Particle took the decision to sell its ceramics injection moulding technology to ICI, and to close down its MIM manufacturing operations. In future, Kim said, Fine Particle's MIM activities will concentrate on selling licences for its intellectual property. He also made it clear that the firm will police the patents it holds, in the US and Europe, on atmospheric extraction of binder from MIM parts. The case from a currently successful MIM producer was put by Richard Drewes of Adv a n c e d F o r m i n g Technology. The company was formed in 1987 to provide services in design and tooling know-how to bring new p r o d u c t s and ideas to the market. It was from one of the product development contracts that the
company discovered M I M and, using the plastics background of its personnel, developed binders and debinding techniques on a laboratory scale. A d v a n c e d Forming n o w has a 2500 m 2 (27 000 square foot) plant in Longmont, Colorado and employs over 100 people. Production facilities comprise 12 moulding machines, 16 production debinding units and four research systems, three production batch type vacuum furnaces and two research furnaces. Typical parts produced by the company are a latch body and a temple hinge for sunglasses. The latch body is used to park the disk heads in the hard disk drive of a portable computer. It was specificallydesigned for production by M I M .and has m a n y features which would be costly to machine or cast. It is m a d e from carbonyl iron, as it must have good soft magnetic properties, in a four cavity mould which has automatic unscrewing cores to form a t h r e a d e d hole. A d v a n c e d Forming produces 100 000 latch bodies a month, with batch sizes of 24 000 parts per sinter cycle normally being run. A final zinc plating operation is performed. The hinge was previously m a c h i n e d from nickel silver alloy. A unique design feature of the MIM part, says Drewes, is the one piece construction which enhanced the style of t h e hinge. The nickel silver alloy was m u c h too ductile w h e n p r o d u c e d by t h e MIM process, but a good braze strength was required for assembly to the frame. A spinodal alloy was developed consisting
Metal P o w d e r Report July/August 1991 w i l l focus o n the l a t e s t d e v e l o p m e n t s f r o m t h e 199: POWDER METALURGY CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION t o b e h e l d i n C h i c a g o , U S A , i n J u n e , 1991.
DO NOT MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADVERTISE IN THE SPECIAL ISSUE Call D a v i d S l e e m a n at E l s e v i e r A d v a n c e d Technology on + 44-865-512242; or f a x y o u r order r e q u i r e m e n t s to: ÷ 44-865-310981.
of copper, nickel and tin. This has good brazing characteristics and strength for bending of the ears during assembly. Initial q u a n t i t i e s called for a four cavity mould, forming two sets of right and left side hinges. Complex slide mechanisms and unscrewing cores form intricate undercuts and fine pitch t h r e a d s in t h e parts during moulding. Production is now 80 000 s e t s / m o n t h but Advanced Forming expects this to increase to over 10 million sets/ y e a r by l a t e 1991. A fully a u t o m a t e d processing line is now being developed to meet this volume. Drewes says t h a t MIM's market penetration is good in a range of applications areas, including office products, automotive, aerospace/aircraft, military and consumer products. In addition, there is now a better understanding of MIM, and the i m a g e of t h e t e c h n o l o g y is improving. But there is still a shortage of suppliers in the low to medium volume area, and the ability to produce prototypes is also required. Standards must also be developed if MIM is to continue to grow, he says. Where does Advanced Forming fit in Verduzco's profitability scale? Certainly the comp a n y has shown i m p r e s s i v e growth, it plans to expand into an additional 2800 m 2 (30 000 square foot) facility this year. Sales in 1991 are expected to r e a c h $7-8 million, a 100% increase over 1990. But after that, Drewes says, growth will slow down a little, only reaching $12 million in 1992.
The future for M I M What kind of future does MIM have? A good one, according to Verduzco. He says that the trend to use MIM is on the up, with m a n u f a c t u r e r s growing m o r e sophisticated and developing proprietary products. In addition, considerable research is being conducted into the technology e.g. at Rensselaer Polyt e c h n i c Institute, Troy, New York, MIM is now a science not an art. Finally, there has been progress in the number of MIM parts finding applications but more design awareness is still needed. Vtrfll MIM have come of age when Gorham holds its 10th annual conference in 1995?
MPR May 1991 27
TECHNOLOGY
Metal injection moulding grows up he m a r k e t for m e t a l injec-
T tion m o u l d e d (MIM) p a r t s will be w o r t h $0.5-$1.0 billion by 1995, this is w h a t t h e i n d u s t r y believed four years ago. The e s t i m a t e s came from G o r h a m I n t e r n a t i o n a l I n c of Gorham, Maine, USA, a t its 2nd International Conference on Metal Injection Molded Parts, held in San Diego, California, in February 1987. Industry predictions have b e e n revised downwards conside r a b l y s i n c e t h e n . The MIM m a r k e t in t h e USA a t p r e s e n t is w o r t h $30-40 million, Leander F. P e a s e III of Powder-Tech Associates, N o r t h Andover, Massachusetts, told delegates a t t h e 6 t h G o r h a m Advanced Materials I n s t i t u t e MIM meeting held in San Diego earlier this year. In E u r o p e t h e i n d u s t r y is even more limited. Pease e s t i m a t e s t h a t it m a y b e w o r t h $4-5 m i l l i o n for s t e e l p a r t s , a n d maybe a little more for hardmetal. In J a p a n , according to Takahiso Koshida of Kawasaki Steel, a n e s t i m a t e d $24.76 million of MIM p a r t s was sold in 1990. In 1989 t h e sales figure was $11.23 million. But h a s MIM really failed to live up to its promise, a n d how m u c h of t h a t w a s g e n u i n e promise a n d not j u s t hype. At FIGURE 1: Position of metal injection moulding in the time~technology development cycle.
o, o
TIME 24 MPR May 1991
TRENDS
this year's meeting: one US MIM p a r t s m a k e r r e p o r t e d t h a t its sales t h i s y e a r will be $7-8 million, 100% growth o n t h e previous year, General Motor's told us t h a t MIM h a s been used in automotive parts; users w h o praised MIM at t h e 1987 meeting c a m e b a c k to e x t o l t h e virtues of t h e technology;, a n d m a n y if n o t all of t h e technical questions posed four years ago seem to h a v e b e e n resolved. MIM is beginning to grow up.
The user's point of view By using two MIM parts, his c o m p a n y h a d saved nearly $650 000, J o h n Davis of Pitney Bowes told delegates in 1987. How does t h e c o m p a n y feel a b o u t t h e process today?. The compon e n t b u s i n e s s u n i t b a s e d in S t a m f o r d , C o n n e c t i c u t , says t h a t MIM will have a m a j o r i m p a c t on p a r t s m a n u f a c t u r i n g as we know it today. P i t n e y Bowes i n t r o d u c e d MIM w h e n it was u n a b l e to m a k e k n i v e s for a m a i l i n g machine using conventional powder metallurgy (PM). The MIM p a r t s held t h e i r tolerances a n d were cheaper. From t h a t p o i n t , Davis says, in h o u s e s t a n d a r d s h a d to be developed which would reflect t h e scope of t h e material used a n d some of t h e process fabrication requirements. Also, t r a i n i n g for Pitney Bowes p e r s o n n e l h a d to b e organized. This was a massive t a s k ; MIM t e c h n o l o g y w a s s h r o u d e d i n secrecy, D a v i s claims, a n d t h i s h a d to b e c h a n g e d before Pitney Bowes could look a t t h e possibility of using MIM p a r t s routinely. The c o m p a n y b r o u g h t in e x p e r t s from outside a n d t r a i n e d managers, a n d design, process, standards and metallurgical engineers in every aspect of t h e process. Has t h e t r a i n i n g b r o u g h t results in t e r m s of t h e n u m b e r of MIM p a r t s used? Davis says it has. In 1986 Pitney Bowes h a d two MIM p a r t s in production. By 1987/88 seven MIM p a r t s were u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n of which t h r e e m a d e it to t h e prototype stage. But n o n e of t h e were p u t into production because the m a c h i n e s t h e y were d e s t i n e d for b e c a m e obsolete. In 1989/ 90 a f u r t h e r nine p a r t s were identified as being suitable for
p r o d u c t i o n by MIM, six of t h e s e were p r o t o t y p e d a n d all six m a d e it into production. The d e v e l o p m e n t of MIM technology will parallel t h a t of plastics, says Davis. Costs will fail as t h e level of technology increases. People are beginning to talk a b o u t t h e technology, r a t h e r t h a n s p r e a d t h e belief t h a t MIM is 'black magic'. The process is on a n u p w a r d s climb. Do o t h e r users agree with Davis' vision of a n u p w a r d climb for MIM? Allen Kass of E a s t m a n Kodak, Rochester, New York, says t h a t his c o m p a n y believes t h a t MIM can be cost effectively a p p l i e d for c o m p o n e n t s produced in q u a n t i t i e s of 20005000 a year. Present applications of MIM a t t h e c o m p a n y include: - - mechanical c o m p o n e n t s t h a t t r a n s f e r linear a n d rotational m o t i o n , s u c h as t r a n s f e r m o t i o n from solenoids used in office copiers; --sliding components where wear r e s i s t a n c e is critical, for e x a m p l e t h e c l i n c h e r a n d anvil used to guide wire for t h e s t a p l e r in a copier, and -- complex structural p a r t s like a c r a n k diverter used in a copier. If MIM is to make m ~ o r inroads into t h e market, says Kass, t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s m u s t provide: a n i n d u s t r y wide d e s i g n guide; m a t e r i a l s specification; stronger c o m m i t m e n t to low a n d medium volume production; a n d competitive pricing. A n o t h e r e n t h u s i a s t for t h e technology is Andrew Strong of Colt Manufacturing. "MIM h a s e n a b l e d us to make o u r best p a r t s ever", h e claims. H a n d g u n m a k e r Colt, which was p a r t of Colt F i r e a r m s Division u n t i l M a r c h 1990, also t u r n e d to MIM in desperation, this time to cut costs. But getting t h e p a r t s i m p l e m e n t e d was a battle, says Strong. The Hartford, Connecticut b a s e d firm successfully t e s t e d a MIM disconnector p a r t in 1983, a n d finally in late 1984 its conservative engineering division conceded that: the cost reduction associated with the p a r t is significant; t h e surface finish is superior to t h e c u r r e n t m a c h i n e d part; a n d t h e dimensions should be more consistent from p a r t to p a r t t h a n t h e machined disconnector. The p a r t was eventually introduced in 1988, a l o n g w i t h a MIM
PM
TECHNOLOGY
TABLE 1: Cost savings per part obtained
with MIM at Colt Manufacturing.
magazine catch for t h e Model 0. 1911 0.45 calibre h a n d g u n . The i n t r o d u c t i o n of MIM to Colt was a long, tedious a n d frustrating endeavour, says Strong. " B u t t h e process h a s given us comp o n e n t s of superior quality a n d reliability, a n d worry free days. The cost savings we have recognized have been substantial e n o u g h to keep o u r h a n d g u n prices a t a reasonable level." Details of t h e MIM p a r t s prod u c e d a t Colt, a n d t h e cost savings achieved are shown in Table 1. But for m a n y of t h e delegates MIM will n o t have 'made it' until it is used to produce automotive components. Its pe-
26 MPR May 1991
TRENDS
n e t r a t i o n into this m a r k e t w a s The producer's point e x a m i n e d by Allan McMillan of of view General Motors, Warren, Michigan. He b r o u g h t t h e meeting a m i x t u r e of good a n d b a d news. There h a s been p e n e t r a t i o n of Profit seemed to be t h e key issue t h e automotive m a r k e t by MIM, a t s t a k e for t h e MIM p a r t s producers. In 1987 t h e meeting h e reported, b u t n o t much. h a d argued over t h e technology, In fact, g r o u n d m a y even have b e e n lost. In 1989 MIM w h e t h e r t h e Wiech process was b e t t e r t h a n t h e Rivers process, was used to m a k e a steering c o l u m n p a r t f o r t h e B u i c k w h a t size p a r t s could be produced by MIM, etc. In 1991 it Regatta. This component, p a r t discussed w h e t h e r a MIM p a r t s of t h e turn, signal, cruise control p r o d u c e r could m a k e a reasona n d h e a d l i g h t d i m m e r assembly, able profit. Metal injection w a s o r i g i n a l l y m a d e in two moulding has moved from pieces from 1018 steel. The b e i n g a novel t e c h n o l o g y to MIM p a r t was a complete replabeing a m a n u f a c t u r i n g technic e m e n t assembly, which simplique. Today, c o m p a n i e s are in fied t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g process, improved t h e p a r t quality in MIM b e c a u s e t h e y can m a k e c o m p o n e n t s profitably, not bet e r m s of d i m e n s i o n a l control, cause they t h i n k it is a 'neat' a n d significantly reduced p a r t technology. But can they make cost. However, t h e forged p a r t money, a n d h o w much? The first h a s again become c h e a p e r t h a n speaker to a d d r e s s these cont h e MIM p a r t a n d GM h a s cerns was conference c h a i r m a n c h a n g e d back, Bill Verduzco. McMillan says t h a t t h e curVerduzco used to r u n Multi r e n t s t a t u s of MIM in automoMaterial Molding, p a r t of Fine tive applications r e p r e s e n t s no Particle Technology Corp. Currbig surprise to him. There are a ently he r u n s Tech Trans which few a p p l i c a t i o n s in u s e a n d is involved in t h e technology t h e r e are m a n y p a r t s u n d e r t r a n s f e r of MIM. development. He says t h e r e are four types The critical issues in t h e use of MIM producer, one making of MIM a r e t h e a b i l i t y t o p r o p r i e t a r y products, a n o t h e r produce complex net shape ferrous parts, on t h e plus side, w h i c h m a n u f a c t u r e s p r o d u c t s and, on t h e m i n u s side, t h e cost for o t h e r divisions of t h e s a m e of material, says McMillan. He company, j o i n t v e n t u r e s a n d job shops. Profitability declines as believes t h a t t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t are best suited for MIM you go down this list. A m o u l d e r who makes proapplication r i g h t now are in t h e prietary p r o d u c t s h a s freedom fuel systems, steering column of design, freedom of alloy a n d systems and brake systems. These require high d i m e n s i o n a l v a l u e a d d e d p r o d u c t s . Gross profit margins m a y be as high q u a l i t y a n d c o m p l e x compoas 75% a n d are often 40-50%. nents. Transmission compoC o m p a n i e s w h i c h have successn e n t s a n d h a r d w a r e assemblies fully p u r s u e d this route include m a y also offer opportunities. Progress h a d been achieved Millet Sights which m a k e s gun sights. a n d M c M i l l a n says t h a t h e Making p r o d u c t s for o t h e r e x p e c t s to see a n u m b e r of a u t o a p p l i c a t i o n s of MIM in divisions, such as Blount (formerly Omark) does, is also a p r o d u c t i o n soon. In his opinion "MIM will be best utilized by good business to be in. Profitplaying to clear advantages, i.e. ability is high a n d t h e m o u l d e r h a s considerable design freeperformance, c o m p l e x p a r t capability, quality a n d simplicity of dom. The l a t t e r two options look p r o d u c t a n d process". less attractive. A j o i n t v e n t u r e But does the injection can work well a n d give m e d i u m moulding industry really w a n t to high profit, says Verduzco, to become a m a j o r supplier to t h e automotive industry?. McMil- especially if it s t a r t s with a n lan told Metal Powder Report ongoing product. B u t it m u s t have p r o p e r capitalization a n d t h a t h e believed t h a t t h e indut e c h n i c a l expertise. At a j o b stry was too small to cope with shop? Profitability is very low, t h e d e m a n d s m a d e by c a r makers, a n d m i g h t regret its a r o u n d 7-10%. Bearing in m i n d t h a t it costs in t h e region of desire to be a player in this $750 000 for capital e q u i p m e n t market. + t h e cost of buying technology
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or a licence + working capital of the same amountagaln, to set up a job shop, is this level of profit e n o u g h for p e o p l e to invest? Good applications yield high profit, Verduzco claimed. His advice to the industry', develop good applications. His definition of a good application is: parts which are small, complex, under 30 g if possible and made from an easily reducible alloy such as Ni-Fe. By this time the conference wanted to know why, if Verduzco's advice was so good, Multi Material Molding was no longer in business. It was left to Colonel Kim of Fine Particle Technology to explain. Multi Material Molding was profitable and was successful, he said, it was closed for political reasons. After the death of Ray Weieh, who developed and patented the Weich process, Fine Particle took the decision to sell its ceramics injection moulding technology to ICI, and to close down its MIM manufacturing operations. In future, Kim said, Fine Particle's MIM activities will concentrate on selling licences for its intellectual property. He also made it clear that the firm will police the patents it holds, in the US and Europe, on atmospheric extraction of binder from MIM parts. The case from a currently successful MIM producer was put by Richard Drewes of Adv a n c e d F o r m i n g Technology. The company was formed in 1987 to provide services in design and tooling know-how to bring new p r o d u c t s and ideas to the market. It was from one of the product development contracts that the
company discovered M I M and, using the plastics background of its personnel, developed binders and debinding techniques on a laboratory scale. A d v a n c e d Forming n o w has a 2500 m 2 (27 000 square foot) plant in Longmont, Colorado and employs over 100 people. Production facilities comprise 12 moulding machines, 16 production debinding units and four research systems, three production batch type vacuum furnaces and two research furnaces. Typical parts produced by the company are a latch body and a temple hinge for sunglasses. The latch body is used to park the disk heads in the hard disk drive of a portable computer. It was specificallydesigned for production by M I M .and has m a n y features which would be costly to machine or cast. It is m a d e from carbonyl iron, as it must have good soft magnetic properties, in a four cavity mould which has automatic unscrewing cores to form a t h r e a d e d hole. A d v a n c e d Forming produces 100 000 latch bodies a month, with batch sizes of 24 000 parts per sinter cycle normally being run. A final zinc plating operation is performed. The hinge was previously m a c h i n e d from nickel silver alloy. A unique design feature of the MIM part, says Drewes, is the one piece construction which enhanced the style of t h e hinge. The nickel silver alloy was m u c h too ductile w h e n p r o d u c e d by t h e MIM process, but a good braze strength was required for assembly to the frame. A spinodal alloy was developed consisting
Metal P o w d e r Report July/August 1991 w i l l focus o n the l a t e s t d e v e l o p m e n t s f r o m t h e 199: POWDER METALURGY CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION t o b e h e l d i n C h i c a g o , U S A , i n J u n e , 1991.
DO NOT MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADVERTISE IN THE SPECIAL ISSUE Call D a v i d S l e e m a n at E l s e v i e r A d v a n c e d Technology on + 44-865-512242; or f a x y o u r order r e q u i r e m e n t s to: ÷ 44-865-310981.
of copper, nickel and tin. This has good brazing characteristics and strength for bending of the ears during assembly. Initial q u a n t i t i e s called for a four cavity mould, forming two sets of right and left side hinges. Complex slide mechanisms and unscrewing cores form intricate undercuts and fine pitch t h r e a d s in t h e parts during moulding. Production is now 80 000 s e t s / m o n t h but Advanced Forming expects this to increase to over 10 million sets/ y e a r by l a t e 1991. A fully a u t o m a t e d processing line is now being developed to meet this volume. Drewes says t h a t MIM's market penetration is good in a range of applications areas, including office products, automotive, aerospace/aircraft, military and consumer products. In addition, there is now a better understanding of MIM, and the i m a g e of t h e t e c h n o l o g y is improving. But there is still a shortage of suppliers in the low to medium volume area, and the ability to produce prototypes is also required. Standards must also be developed if MIM is to continue to grow, he says. Where does Advanced Forming fit in Verduzco's profitability scale? Certainly the comp a n y has shown i m p r e s s i v e growth, it plans to expand into an additional 2800 m 2 (30 000 square foot) facility this year. Sales in 1991 are expected to r e a c h $7-8 million, a 100% increase over 1990. But after that, Drewes says, growth will slow down a little, only reaching $12 million in 1992.
The future for M I M What kind of future does MIM have? A good one, according to Verduzco. He says that the trend to use MIM is on the up, with m a n u f a c t u r e r s growing m o r e sophisticated and developing proprietary products. In addition, considerable research is being conducted into the technology e.g. at Rensselaer Polyt e c h n i c Institute, Troy, New York, MIM is now a science not an art. Finally, there has been progress in the number of MIM parts finding applications but more design awareness is still needed. Vtrfll MIM have come of age when Gorham holds its 10th annual conference in 1995?
MPR May 1991 27