Analysis of the influence of sinter temperature on the joint quality of sinter-joined microcheck valves made of 17-4 PH stainless steel

Whilst powder injection moulding (PIM) of metal or ceramic parts is a favourable technique for producing complex geometries, there are still limitations concerning undercuts, closed cavities or mobile connections. In this paper, a sinter-joining technique of stainless steel parts is presented using the example of a microcheck valve. The valve was produced by an automatic assembly of two powder injection-moulded housing parts and an incorporation of a ceramic ball during the assembly step. The subsequent sintering process allowed fusing single particles and densifying the check valve. To evaluate the quality of the joining step, the contact area was investigated microscopically, and internal pressure tests were performed. The results revealed that a dense contact area can be achieved by using suitable sintering parameters which in turn leads to internal pressure values higher than 700 bar.