Laminar gas flow and plasma reduces cycle time for Powder Metal Injection Moulded parts -
Claus J Joens, Elnik Systems & Satyajit Banerjee, DSH Technologies LLC, USA

The creation of laminar gas flow inside a controlled retort speeds the debinding process of the secondary binder followed by laminar gas flow sintering for parts made by Powder Metal Injection Molding. Adding a controlled Plasma cuts the debinding process time even more followed by laminar gas flow sintering enables this furnace to produce parts in half the time than conventional furnaces offer today.  The paper describes the furnace and results achieved by debinding and sintering in this furnace.  The combination of these two technologies result in drastic cycle time reduction compared to conventional debinding and sintering.