Micro powder metallurgy for micropart production

A silicon mold was reproduced in stainless steel, iron and silver and it was shown that minimum structures of 20 mu m and an aspect ratio of up to 5 could be produced. Micrographs show that some backcuts and a rough surface of the mold may have prevented even better results. First experiments to obtain not only microstructures but also isolated parts using MPM have also been performed and show the possibility of manufacturing them. Future work will be concerned with the application of nanopowder in metal injection molding, as well as the processing of other materials e.g. functional and hard materials. Thus, MPM is a suitable technique for the reproduction of fine structures and parts which may have applications in miniature motors, pumps and reactors. More work needs to be done to adapt the processing to the available molds and dies and the handling to the small dimensions of microparts and to other microsystem technology processes.