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What is Metal Injection Molding (MIM) process?

July 21,2025.

Metal Injection Molding (MIM) is an advanced manufacturing process that combines plastic injection molding and powder metallurgy technology, capable of efficiently producing complex shaped, high-precision, and high-performance metal parts.

First.  The basic process of MIM technology
The MIM process mainly consists of the following four core steps:
1. Feed preparation
Raw material mixing: Mix metal powder (usually with a particle size of 5-10 μ m) with organic binders (such as wax and plastic) in proportion to form a uniform "feed".
Adhesive function: The adhesive imparts fluidity to the mixture, allowing it to flow in the injection molding machine.
2. Injection molding
Mold filling: Heat the feed to the molten state of the adhesive (about 150-200 ℃), and inject it into the precision mold under high pressure to form.
Cooling demolding: After cooling, a "green part" is obtained, which has the same shape as the final part but contains a large amount of adhesive.
3. Debinding
Remove the binder: gradually remove the binder from the green body through solvent degreasing, thermal degreasing, or catalytic degreasing, forming a "Brown Part".
Key control point: Slowly degreasing is required to avoid cracking or deformation of the parts.
4. Sintering
High temperature densification: Place the brown billet in a protective atmosphere (such as hydrogen or argon) or a vacuum furnace, heat it to 70-90% of the melting point of the metal (such as stainless steel at about 1300 ℃), and allow the powder particles to diffuse and bond, resulting in a final density of 95-99% of the theoretical density.
Shrinkage control: After sintering, the parts will shrink uniformly (about 15-20%), which needs to be compensated in advance during mold design.


Second. The core advantages of MIM technology
1. Ability in complex geometry
Complex structures such as thin walls, inner cavities, and micro tooth shapes that traditional machining cannot achieve, such as porous filters and precision gears, can be formed.
2. High material utilization rate: The material utilization rate exceeds 95%, far higher than machining (usually only 30-50%).
3. Batch efficient production suitable for large quantities (annual output of more than 20000 pieces) of small parts, with low unit cost.
4. Material diversity supports high-performance metals such as stainless steel (316L, 17-4PH), tool steel, titanium alloys, hard alloys, magnetic materials, etc.
5. High precision and surface quality dimensional tolerances can reach ± 0.3%~± 0.5%, with a surface roughness of Ra 1.2 μ m, and some parts do not require further processing


Third. Typical application areas of MIM
1.Consumer electronics: mobile phone card holder, folding screen hinge, smart watch case.
2.Medical equipment: surgical instruments, dental brackets, orthopedic implants.
3.Automotive industry: turbocharger blades, fuel injectors, seat belt buckles. Industrial tools: micro gears, drill bits, tool holders.
4.Aerospace: drone structural components, high-temperature resistant alloy parts.


Fouth Future Trends of MIM
1.Material expansion: Accelerated MIM application of high-temperature alloys and titanium alloys (such as in the aerospace field).
2.Micron level precision: breakthrough in MIM technology for micro components such as MEMS sensors.
3. Green technology: environmentally friendly adhesives and optimized degreasing techniques to reduce energy consumption and pollution.


Metal injection molding (MIM) is the optimal solution for mass production of complex small metal parts, especially suitable for high-precision requirements in fields such as consumer electronics and medical devices. If your parts meet the characteristics of small size, complexity, large quantity, and high material performance, MIM can significantly reduce overall costs and improve performance.


SAT NANO is a best supplier of metal powder for  MIM technology, we can supply iron powder, copper powder, steel stainless powder and others, if you have any enquiry, please feel free to contact us at admin@satnano.com

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