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
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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.