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John Lyons
Phone: 519-430-7166
Fax: 519-430-7064
Email: John.Lyons@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
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Éric Baril
Phone: 450-641-5027
Email: Eric.Baril@imi.cnrc-nrc.gc.ca
Powder Injection Moulding and Micromoulding: Net Shaping of Metallic and Ceramic Components for Biomedical Applications
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The Industrial Materials Institute of the National Research Council Canada (NRC-IMI) has a new integrated forming platform to fabricate metallic and ceramic medical implants and devices. These new facilities allow companies working in this sector to validate their concepts, manufacturing processes and potential markets.
Powder Injection Moulding
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Powder injection moulding combines the qualities of plastic injection moulding, such as form complexity and high productivity, to the specific properties of ceramic, metallic or carbide materials. This process involves:
Typical design criteria:
During the last few years, NRC-IMI has made major investments in the domain of biomaterials to help companies meet new technological challenges in the medical sector. The new platform presented here aims at promoting the fabrication of metallic |
and ceramic medical implants and devices using powder injection/ sintering moulding processes for biomedical applications.
The integrated production platform available from NRC-IMI is designed for users, designers and manufacturers of biomedical parts and also for producers of metallic and ceramic powders and companies in other industrial sectors.
Advantages
Access to this platform and to the expertise available at NRC-IMI makes it possible to:
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Develop new materials and alloys
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Explore an alternative to machining for the production of complex parts with a high level of function integration
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Optimize the parts production line
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Reduce marketing and concept validation time by producing short runs.
Feedstock Design and Production
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With its expertise in the formulation of polymers, polymer composites and powders, NRC-IMI has everything at hand to design formulations specific to powder injection moulding. The available equipment allows the production and the control of the rheology and homogeneity of the formulations produced in both low and industrial volumes. |
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Moulding
The injection presses available at NRC-IMI cover a wide range of parts volumes and an extensive range of injection pressures (0.5 to 250 MPa).
Two-component injection moulding machine with 50 kN clamping force.
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New functionalities may also be obtained using two-component moulding. For instance, it is possible to mix magnetic and non-magnetic materials or dense and porous materials during moulding and so minimize machining and assembly steps. Miniature components may also be produced for micromechanics and microfluidics applications. Very high precision parts with volumes of less than 1 cm3 may be obtained by powder injection micromoulding at a high production rate. |
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To support powder injection moulding activities, NRC-IMI has also developed parallel finite element computation modeling software to simulate the process in 3D and so predict the behaviour of the formulation during mould filling, compacting and cooling phases. NRC-IMI's expertise helps with the optimization of the cavities shape before the mould is made, among other advantages.
Filling simulation of a dental implant mould by powder injection moulding.
Debinding and Sintering
The development of binders that degrade without any residue and of adapted sintering procedures for reactive metals is at the very heart of NRC-IMI activities. Based on the characteristics of the binders and powders, solvent, catalytic and thermal debinding modes can be used.
High vacuum, reduced atmosphere or inert gas furnace offers great flexibility on sintering conditions for the consolidation of most metals and ceramics.
Characterization
The powder injection moulding production platform also includes many dimensional, chemical, mechanical and microstructural characterization instruments essential to assess quality and validate concepts.
Available equipment and techniques are as follows:
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Particle size distribution analysis
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Powder fluidity and density analysis
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Thermogravimetric and thermal analysis (TGA, DTA, DSC)
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C, S, O, N, H elemental analysis
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Gas pycnometer
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Contactless multiple sensor metrology system
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Confocal and interferometric optical profilometry system
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X-ray diffraction
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Metallography, optical and electron microscopy laboratories
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Mechanical testing laboratory
Micro-structural, mechanical, chemical and dimensional characterization.
NRC-IMI's expertise in materials characterization makes it possible to support the development of new powder injection moulding applications and ensure that the dimensional criteria and physical and chemical properties required for each one of the applications considered by the industry are met.
SEM and confocal optical profiler images of the surface micro-structure
from a micro-moulded ceramic component.
From Concept to Production
The vast range of expertise available at NRC-IMI combined with a full complement of powder injection moulding and micromoulding production tools makes this facility a unique platform in Canada. It allows NRC-IMI researchers and their R&D partners to produce components in small and medium runs, and therefore to rapidly validate their concepts, the fabrication technology and potential markets.
Access to the equipment and expertise available at NRC-IMI makes it possible to:
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Design, produce and form metals and alloys, ceramic materials and composite materials that cannot be obtained by machining
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Support design and produce complex implants and micro-implants as well as components of surgical instruments, orthodontic systems, etc.
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Produce ceramic and metallic parts with microstructured surfaces for microfluidics and bioengineering applications, etc.
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Develop high function integration components through the development of two-component injection and composite materials
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Reduce medium and large volume manufacturing costs for complex metallic and ceramic parts
Collaboration with the Industry
Through R&D and pre-competitive research projects, NRC-IMI works with companies and uses progressive technology transfer processes to ensure them a technological competitive advantage. To learn more about this powder injection moulding platform and take advantage of NRC-IMI's resources, please feel free to contact us:
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Eric Baril |
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John Lyons, M.B.A. |
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