N. H. Mohamad Nor

Characterization and Rheological Studies on Ready-Made Feedstock of Stainless Steel 316L in Metal Injection Molding (MIM) Process

Current trend for manufacturers associated to MIM industry try to enhance the feedstock in term of its characteristics, since it is the most crucial part of the MIM process. This paper covered the characterization and rheological studies on a ready-made feedstock of stainless steel 316L which is vital to determine the availability and suit the needs of many advanced applications. There are three different experiments involved which are Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), Thermogravimetric (TGA) and Capillary Rheometer. Observation through SEM gives an insight of the bonding microstructure matrices of the feedstock and also determines the homogeneity of the feedstock. DSC testing defines the melting temperature of the 3 binders used which are 62.07°C for surfactant, 178.72°C for filler and 236.61°C for backbone binder. From TGA result, it showed that the total weight loss of feedstock was 39%. Throughout the capillary rheometer testing, the feedstocks viscosity was decreasing as the shear rate increasing. The feedstock exhibits pseudoplastic behaviour since its flow behaviour index was less than 1. It is founded that at the temperature of 190°C, the feedstock exhibits the best characteristics for injection.

Rheological Investigation of ZK60 Magnesium Alloy Feedstock for Metal Injection Moulding Using Palm Stearin Based Binder System

This paper investigates the characteristic important to metal injection moulding (MIM) process via rheological behavior of MIM feedstock. A gas atomized spherical ZK60 magnesium (Mg) alloy powder and the binder of 60wt.% palm stearin (PS) + 40wt.% low density polyethylene (LDPE) were used in this investigation. Prior to mixing process, critical powder volume percentage (CPVP) was determined and subsequently four different feedstocks with powder loading of 62, 64, 66 and 68vol.% were prepared. The properties of the feedstocks were then analyzed rheologically. Here, the flow behavior index n, the flow activation energy E and the mold ability index αSTV of the Mg alloy MIM feedstocks were determined. Results show that feedstock with 64% powder loading has the best rheological properties and therefore it is considered to be the best for the injection moulding process.

Injection molding parameter optimization of Ti-6Al-V powder mix with palm stearin and polyethylene for highest green strength using taguchi method

Taguchi method of L27 (313) orthogonal array is used in this paper as a tool in optimization of Metal injection molding (MIM) parameters for the highest green strength. Parameters optimized are the injection pressure, injection temperature, powder loading, mold temperature, holding pressure and injection speed. Besides those, interaction of the injection pressure, injection temperature and powder loading were studied. The metal powder of Ti‐6Al‐4V is mixed with binder 60wt% of palm stearin and 40wt% of polyethylene successfully injected at optimum parameter condition: 350 bar of injection pressure, 140° C of injection temperature, 65vol% of powder loading, 50° C of mold temperature, 600 bar of holding pressure, and 10 ccm/s of the injection rate. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the best signal to noise ratio (S/N) presents the contribution of the parameters to the quality characteristic (green strength). Results show that the mold temperature has highest significant percentage (27.59%) followed by powder...

Characterisation of titanium alloy feedstock for metal injection moulding using palm stearin binder system

Metal injection moulding (MIM) is a cost-effective technique for producing small, complex, precision parts in high volume. Each step in MIM process plays a vital role in order to achieve high quality final product. To have a good understanding of the MIM process and successful in manufacturing, characterisation of the material feedstock is essential. This paper presents the characterization of MIM feedstock consisting titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) powder mix with binder 60 wt% of palm stearin and 40 wt% polyethylene. The characterisation of Ti-6Al-4V alloy powder, binders and feedstock includes scanning electron micrograph (SEM), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimeter (DCS) and rheological test were established. Rheological results exhibited pseudoplastic or shear thinning flow behaviour, where its viscosity decreased with increasing shear rate. The feedstock viscosity also decreased with increasing temperature and was found to be suitable for moulding.

Taguchi Method for the Determination of Optimised Sintering Parameters of Titanium Alloy Foams

Sintering is a key step in the preparation of metal foams. The present work focuses on the sintering effects on the properties of titanium foam prepared using the slurry technique. Sintering affects the density as well as the mechanical properties of the sintered parts. To achieve a high density of the titanium alloy foam, the effects of various parameters including temperature, time profile and composition have to be characterized and optimized. This paper reports the use of the Taguchi method in characterizing and optimizing the sintering process parameters of titanium alloys. The effect of four sintering factors: composition, sintering temperature, heating rate and soaking time to the density has been studied. The titanium slurry was prepared by mixing titanium alloy powder, polyethylene glycol (PEG), methylcellulose and water. Polyurethane (PU) foam was then impregnated into the slurry and dried at room temperature. This was later sintered in a high temperature vacuum furnace. The various factors were assigned to an L9 orthogonal array. From the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the sintering temperature was found to give the highest percentage of contribution (34.73) followed by the composition of the titanium alloy powder (26.41) and the heating rate (0.64). The optimum density for the sintered titanium alloy foam was 1.4873±0.918 gcm-1. Confirmatory experiments have produced results that lay within the 90% confidence interval.

Metal injection moulding of ZK60 magnesium alloy powder using palm stearin based binder system

This paper presents a new fabrication process for producing magnesium alloy components via metal injection moulding (MIM). Here, four kind of feedstock with 62, 64, 66 and 68% powder loading were prepared by a mixture of gas atomized ZK60 magnesium alloy powder with a resin consisting of palm stearin and low density polyethylene. The rheological investigation of the feedstock was carried out and the optimal powder loading was determined. The optimal powder loading feedstock was then injected by screw type injection moulding machine. The effects of injection moulding parameters on the physical and mechanical properties of green compacts were evaluated. The results showed that injection moulding of a feedstock containing 64% magnesium alloy was possible at high barrel temperature and pressure.

The Development of Metal Injection Moulding for ZK60 Magnesium Alloy Using Palm Stearin Based Binder System

In this paper, the development of green compact of ZK60 magnesium alloy was studied in the context of MIM using screw type injection moulding machine model Battenfeld BA250CDC. The MIM feedstock used was 64 vol.% powder loading and the balance was palm stearin and low linear density polyethylene with the fraction of 60/40 by weight percent. The injection moulding parameters were then adjusted until the optimal condition of green part was accomplished. Results indicate that the feedstock exhibited good workability when injection moulded at the temperature of 190°C, injection pressure of 900kN, flow rate of 15,5cm3/s and with a very low ejection parameters. This technique provides an additional means to manufacture magnesium alloy components for a wide variety of applications.

Surface Integrity in Micromilling of Hardened AISI D2 Tool Steel

This paper presents workpiece surface integrity of micromilling hardened tool steel AISI D2. These include 3D mapping of surface texture, analysis of microstructure and microhardness variation. The results indicate no evidence of major surface damage such as microcracks, un-tempered/over-tempered martensite, phase transformations or white layer formation was detected in any of the specimens analysed. No discernible deformation of the material grain structure beneath the machined surface was observed. This was mainly attributed to the comparatively low levels of mechanical force and temperatures generated during the micro milling operation.

Influence of Depth of Cut on Contact Phenomenon in Micromachining

Chip formation is a dynamic process that is often nonlinear in nature. A chip may not form when the depth of cut is less than a minimum chip thickness. It is aimed to investigate influence of depth of cut on contact phenomenon in micromachining. This paper presents a series of simulation works by finite element method on depth of cut effect on micromachining. A model is developed with consideration of the Johnson-Cook material and Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) method. In this work investigate the effect of depth of cut on the contact phenomenon during micromachining AISI D2. The results of the analysis are showed in aspects of interrelationship between material separation and frictional shear contact, distribution of stick-slide regions and contact stress on the work piece and cutting tool. It is found that the sticking and sliding was occurred on three zones as primary, secondary and tertiary shear zone. The contact phenomena can be showed around the tool edge radius where material flows around it and piles in front of the cutting tool through material separation. The investigation of contact phenomena inclusive under three criteria such as a/r < 1, a/r > 1 and a/r = 1 on positive rake angle.

A study on kerf and material removal rate in wire electricaldischarge machining of Ti-6Al-4V: multi-objectives optimization

This paper presents an investigation on the effect and optimization of machining parameters on the kerf (cutting width) and material removal rate (MRR) of titanium alloy (TI-6AL-4V) using wire electrical discharge machining WEDM with a brass wire diameter of 0.5mm. The experimental studies were conducted under varyingpulse-off time, peak current, wire feed and wire tension. The settings of machining parameters were determined by using Taguchi experimental design method. The multiple performance characteristics based on the statistical-based analysis of variance (ANOVA) and grey relational analysis (GRA) was attempted. Analysis of variance was used to study the significance of process parameters on grey relational grade (GRG) which showed the most significant factor. The GRG obtained from the GRA was used to optimize the WEDM process. The optimum process parameters are determined by the GRG as the overall performance index. To validate the findings, confirmation experiment had been carried out at the optimal set of parameters, and the predicted results were found to be in good agreements with experimental findings. Improved machining performance in the WEDM process has been achieved by using this approach.