Effect of nanopowder ratio in bimodal powder mixture on powder injection molding

Abstract One of the significant advantages of nanopowder is activated sintering and better surface finish of the final components. However, because of its drawbacks like higher cost and low formability, the mixture of nano and micro powder emerged as an effective solution. In this research, effects of nanopowder in nano/micro bimodal feedstock were studied. Bimodal powder in feedstock was prepared with nano and micro sized powders. These powders were mixed with different nanopowder volume ratio from 0 to 50%. The effects of nanopowder vol.% on the critical solids loading was investigated with rheometer experiments. From debinding behavior, apparent debinding activation energy for each feedstock was determined. Sintering behavior of micro and bimodal feedstocks were analyzed by dilatometer and compared with die compacted specimen. Nanopowder effect on sintered density and hardness of the samples were verified as well.