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3D Metal Moulding , also referred to as Metal Injection Moulding or 'MIM', is used to manufacture components with complex geometries. The process uses a mixture of metal powders and polymer binders - also known as 'feedstock' - which are then injection moulded. After moulding, the parts are thermally processed in order to remove the binding agent. They are then sintered to a high density metal component which has mechanical properties comparable to wrought materials. 3D Metal Moulding is mainly used to achieve intricate and complex shapes that are very difficult or expensive to produce using conventional manufacturing methods. Benefits of 3D Metal Moulding * It only uses the exact volume of material required to create the part, reducing costs. * Once the tooling is created huge volumes of high quality parts can be produced with little lead time. * MIM can achieve intricate parts with complex geometries reducing the requirement for secondary operations, such as brand engravings. * Parts can be moulded from a wide range of materials including 'exotic' metals. * 3D Metal Moulding is perfect for volumes of 1000 plus - and can also be extremely cost effective for smaller quantities, although this is material dependent. 3D Metal Printing 3D metal printing builds components by delivering the powdered metal and binder in alternative layers through a nozzle controlled by a computer system, working to a CAD drawing. The initial process does not achieve the required strength so parts must go through a secondary process which involves fusing another type of metal into the shape. There are currently two methods used in 3D metal printing; SLS – Selective Laser Sintering or Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS, which uses a laser to seal the powdered metal together into a hard object, and SLM – Selective Laser Melting, which completely melts the powder forming a homogenous part. This process can only be used for single materials so is not suitable for alloys which limits its potential for a number of customers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「3D Metal Moulding」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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