Powder injection molding process and apparatus
AssigneeMold-Masters Limited
InventorHakim Belhadjhamida
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A powder injection molding process involves providing a melt mixture that includes a powder and a binder. The melt mixture is pressurized in an injection molding machine and a gas is injected into the melt mixture. The melt mixture and gas are injected into at least one mold to form a green part and the binder is removed from the green part.
Claims14
An injection molding process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a melt mixture including a powder and a binder,
- (b) pressurizing said melt mixture in an injection molding machine;
- (c) injecting a gas into said melt mixture;
- (d) injecting said melt mixture and said gas into at least one mold to form a green part;
- and,
- (e) removing said binder from said green part.
In an injection molding machine having a barrel, said barrel having a nozzle opening at one end, a feedstock hopper in fluid communication with the interior of said barrel and spaced from said nozzle opening, a heater for heating feedstock in said barrel into a melt, and injection means for injecting melt from said barrel said nozzle, the improvement comprising:
- at least one orifice in said barrel connectable to a source of pressurized gas so that gas is injectable under pressure from said source into said melt in said barrel.
A method of molding a powder based material comprising the steps of:
- providing a powder material
- providing a binding material
- mixing said powder material and said binding material to form a feedstock material
- transforming said feedstock material into a melt feedstock material
- adding a pressurized gas into said melt feedstock material to form a melt porous feedstock material
- introducing said melt porous feedstock material into a cavity mold to form a green porous part having the shape of the mold
- removing said binding material, through the pores from said green porous part, in order to form a solid porous material.
A method of molding a powder based material comprising the steps of:
- providing a feedstock material made of a powder material and a binding material
- transforming said feedstock material into a melt feedstock material
- adding a pressurized gas into said melt feedstock material to form a melt porous feedstock material
- introducing said melt porous feedstock material into a cavity mold to form a green porous part having the shape of the mold
- removing said binding material, through the pores from said green porous part, in order to form a solid porous material.
An apparatus for molding a powder based material comprising:
- a device to mix a powder material and a binding material and to obtain a feedstock material
- a device to turn said feedstock material into a melt feedstock material
- a source of a pressurized gas
- a device to introduce said pressurized gas into said melt feedstock material to form a melt porous feedstock material
- a mold to receive said melt porous feedstock material to create a porous green part having the shape of the mold.
An apparatus for molding a powder based material comprising:
- an injection molding machine to process a feedstock material made of a powder material and a binder material
- a source of a pressurized gas
- a device to introduce said pressurized gas into said melt feedstock material to form a melt porous feedstock material
- an injection mold to receive said melt porous feedstock material to create a porous green part having the shape of the mold.
A green molded article made of a powder material, a binder and having pores, wherein said pores have been created during an injection molding process and wherein a gas has been added inside an injection molding barrel during the injection molding process to create said pores.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.