MIM

What Is MIM?
   Process Overview
When to Use MIM
   General Guidelines
   Technology Comparisons
   Materials Range
   Materials List
Design Guidelines
   Designing for Manufacturability
   Uniform Wall Thickness
   Thickness Transition
   Coring Holes
   Draft
   Ribs and Webs
   Fillets and Radii
   Threads
   Holes and Slots
   Undercuts
   Gating
   Parting Lines
   Decorative Features
   Sintering Support
Secondary Operations

Design Guidelines

Designing components for MIM is more akin to designing for plastic injection molding than to designing for other metal-forming processes. By ignoring the limitations of those traditional metal-forming technologies, the design engineer is free to re-imagine a component from a new perspective, a thought process that can consider the reduction of material content, the combining of multiple components into one, or the molding in of functional and decorative features from the start.

To maximize the application of MIM’s advantages in the design of any part—whether new or converted from one previously fabricated via another process—we offer here a set of guidelines to enhancing its manufacturability. In addition, some information regarding secondary operations is included in this section.