Additive manufacturing of metal components with the ARBURG plastic freeforming process

Using the ARBURG freeformer in the metal injection molding (MIM) process chain instead of an injection molding machine for molding the parts constitutes a new approach for the additive production of sintered metal components. Its main benefits are toolless manufacturing and using the conventional MIM feedstock. This paper presents this kind of approach with a carbonyl iron feedstock. The investigation includes the determination of the influences of the relevant printing process parameters on the mechanical properties of the sintered parts and the comparison with MIM. Experimental results are discussed, including an analysis of microsections, density, tensile strength Rm and shrinkage.