Evaluation of feedstock for powder injection molding

Methods to evaluate powder injection molding feedstock without performing the complete processing were developed to reduce the development-to-commercialization cycle time for feedstock. The mixing homogeneity of the powder and binder, rheological properties, mechanical property and shape retainability during debinding were characterized to evaluate the feedstock. The validity of using these parameters was investigated through comparison with various feedstocks. Based on these results, the evaluation methods developed in this work have potential to aid in the selection of proper feedstock without undergoing the subsequent processing.