Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2025
A Soft Tooling Process Chain for Injection Molding of a 3D Component with Micro Pillars
Published on: August 4, 2018
Development of a Rapid Tool for Metal Injection Molding Using Aluminum-Filled Epoxy Resins
Chil-Chyuan Kuo1,2,3,4, Xin-Yu Pan5
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, No. 84, Gungjuan Road, New Taipei City 243, Taiwan.
Abstract:
Metal injection molding (MIM) is a near net-shape manufacturing process combining conventional plastic injection molding and powder metallurgy. Two kinds of injections molds for MIM were developed using conventional mold steel and aluminum (Al)-filled epoxy resins in this study. The characteristics of the mold made by rapid tooling technology (RTT) were evaluated and compared with that of the fabricated conventional machining method through the MIM process. It was found that the service life of the injection mold fabricated by Al-filled epoxy resin is about 1300 molding cycles with the average surface roughness of 158 nm. The mold service life of the injection mold fabricated by Al-filled epoxy resin is about 1.3% that of the conventional mold steel. The reduction in manufacturing cost of an injection mold made by Al-filled epoxy resin is about 30.4% compared with that of the fabricated conventional mold steel. The saving in manufacturing time of an injection mold made by RTT is about 30.3% compared with that of the fabricated conventional machining method.
