MIM-Technology: Debinding and sintering furnaces

Elino Industrie-Ofenbau GmbH has developed a new batch furnace technology for the powder injection molded process. The first furnace has been developed for the complete one step debinding of MIM parts which includes catalytic debinding, thermal residual debinding and pre-sintering steps up to 950 °C with changeable atmosphere during the process. The second furnace is designed for absolute clean sintering i.e. free from contamination of carbon and can be operated under different process gases and vacuum up to maximum sintering temperatures of 1,450 °C (max. 1,600 °C). The main advantages of the new technology furnace are fast production, the avoidance of carbon pick up especially in Mo, W, and Fe alloys, longer life time of hot zone and heating elements and much higher cost efficiency. These two furnaces were tested with 316 L and 17-4 PH materials and the technology was approved with excellent findings showing sintered density of 7.70 g/cm3 and 7.65g/cm3 respectively without any distortion in MIM parts.