Research progress on the effects of binder and powder characteristic on the feeding properties of metal injection molding

In the metal injection molding process, the metal powders need to be fully mixed with the binders to get the feeds before injection, degreasing, and sintering. The powder characteristic and binders of the feeds are the core of the metal injection molding, which have the great impact on the rheological properties and powder loading capacity of the feeds, and then affect the injection, degreasing, and sintering. Based on the optimization of binder components, the metal powder modification, and the improvement of feeding performance, the effects of binder components, additives in binders, powder shape, powder particle size, and surface modification on the rheological properties and loading capacity of the feeds were described. The additives in binders were added to improve the feed performance, including plasticizers, stabilizers, and surfactants. The addition of additives, the optimization of particle size distribution and shape, and the surface modification of the powders could significantly improve the rheological properties of the feeds, such as feed viscosity, rheological parameters, and the critical loading capacity of the powders.