MIM Guidelines

Design Guidelines in Metal Injection Molding

Metal Injection Molding is an innovative technology. It is a combination of Powder Metal process and Plastic Injection Molding.

For a detailed introduction on Metal Injection Molding, please refer to the article https://www.indo-mim.com/the-future-of-manufacturing-technology-with-metal-injection-molding published in INDO-MIM website. INDO-MIM is the worlds largest MIM company having 165+ molding machines & 35+ sintering furnaces.

Lets talk about design guidelines in Metal Injection Molding.

Here are 14 design guidelines of Metal Injection Molding. They pretty much follow the same principles as Plastic Injection Molding.

  1. MIM effectively maintains a minimum wall thickness of 0.012” or 0.3mm.
  2. It can go up to maximum wall thickness of 0.30” or 8mm
  3. The design needs to consider a gate location which is also the injection points on a part.
  4. We can remove these gate mark in secondary finishing later.
  5. Parting lines and ejector pin marks need to be considered in design.
  6. Minimum corner radius of 0.004” or 0.1mm can be achieved.
  7. Larger the corner radius, better it would be.
  8. Minimum feature size on the component is around 0.012” or 0.3mm
  9. Logos or texts can be added on the surface as needed.
  10. Draft angles of 1 to 5 degrees can be considered.
  11. To consider threads in your part, inter and external threads up to M5 (10-32) can be considered for molding.
  12. Any larger size or finer threads need to be finished machined.
  13. Collapsible cores are used for larger under-cut features.
  14. MIM Molds can accommodate hydraulic or electric actuators

In addition to these above 14 important design guidelines, experienced designers can help you understand any missing guidelines to be considered in your part. These design guidelines primarily help with the material flow inside the cavity. No two parts are the same, so it does take a lot of knowledge and experience to advise you on the right error free MIM design. INDO-MIM has 3000+ experienced engineers who can help you from introduction, RFQ’s, DFM as per MIM requirements, prototyping & FAI samples, QA/QC reports & delivery of parts to your doorstep.

Indo-MIM specializes in manufacturing metal injection molded parts in the Medical device industry, Hand & Power tools industry, Defence & firearms industry, Automotive industry & the consumer industry. It has helped 700+ customers globally to reduce their manufacturing costs by 30% – 80% yielding them an ROI that they never imagined. This in-turn made INDO-MIM win customers hearts by becoming their preferred MIM supplier.

Metal Injection Molding design guidelines