DSH Consulting Services....

Feedback selection

The type of feedstock you use depends on:

The quantity, size and complexity of the part
Make or buy your feedstock Study 
How much feedstock you need
Will you blend your own feedstock or will you buy a premixed feedstock
What will you need to make your own feedstock
The alloy and the starting powders you will be using
How much shrinkage you need

Tool Design

The correct tool design is critical in the process. This includes using the correct: Shrinkage, the proper positioning of the gates, runners, venting, slides & parting lines.

Analyzing how this works before cutting any metal for a few samples or for production. This is performed by a mold flow analysis. While this may seem like an additional expense, the costs are much less than multiple tool modifications based on trial and error.

We can help you in designing the optimum tool for the part that you want to mold.

Solvent, Catalytic or Water Debinding For First step primary binder

The choice of feedstock determines the method to be used for removing the primary binder, for example, water will not debind wax. The equipment used depends on the feedstock and the primary debinding method chosen.

We can help you choose the right feedstock for your product and the equipment for processing it.

Thermal Debinding/Sintering

The second stage or backbone binder holds the particles together until the material is ready to start forming necks between the particles by diffusion. This binder must be removed without leaving residues in the part in the form of carbon or other inorganic materials so that the composition of the powder is not contaminated or compromised.

The binder must also be removed in a manner slow enough so not to crack or distort the part by the force of the binder material leaving the part. This debinding step is done in the sintering furnace, because after all the binders are removed from the part, the minute necks formed between particles do not result in a part strong enough to be handled even with the best of care.

During sintering, when temperatures are as high as 0.8 times the melting point of the material in degrees Kelvin, the bond between the particles form and grow by the mechanism of solid state diffusion. This leads to the elimination of pores, shrinkage and densification of the part.

The final size of the part depends on the powders used, the binder content of and hence the shrinkage factor of the feedstock as well as the processing and sintering parameters.

We can help you choose the right equipment, processing and sintering parameters for your material to produce the part that you want.

Setter Design

It is not necessarily enough to choose the right processing parameters to produce the correct part. Parts are made by the MIM process to eliminate machining requirements and obtain a net shape. This often means that the part has to be propped and supported to retain it’s desired shape and special settering may be needed to do so.

We can help design and have an optimum setter made for your part if you have such a requirement.

Testing For Carbon, Oxygen, Density & Metallographic Analysis.

When you make a part the question always is does this part meet all the mechanical and chemical property requirements? Often a few simple tests can answer these questions. At DSH we have the capability of testing the carbon and oxygen contents of most alloys. These two tests will tell you how well the part was debound and sintered.  A test for density and a metallographic examination will confirm how well the part was sintered.

We can perform these tests to determine how well the part has been sintered and whether you have an optimum process.

R&D/QC Laboratories

Special equipment is needed to study and ensure that the process is performing the way it was designed. 

We can help you determine your needs and fulfill them.