Development of Two‐Component Micropowder Injection Molding (2C‐MicroPIM)—Process Development

The increasing importance of two‐component microinjection molding is due to the potential to integrate different functionalities in one assembly without applying additional procedures. Furthermore, it enables a mass production technique of assemblies made up of two or more components. For mechanical advantages like toughness, hardness, or sufficient tribological behavior, metal or ceramic materials have to be used; the resulting process type is known as two‐component micropowder injection molding (2C‐MicroPIM). As this technology permits, in principle, the realization of fixed as well as movable junctions, a variety of new applications will be available. However, the two crucial aspects of 2C‐MicroPIM research are the selection of adequate materials and an optimized process development. This article describes the challenges and approaches of the process development. The feasibility of ceramic 2C‐MicroPIM assemblies has been demonstrated by a shaft‐to‐collar connection, which is composed by a zirconia gear wheel and a shaft made of alumina.