CPS has recently been awarded an STTR to explore one of our core material processing techniques, the QuickSet™ Injection Molding Process (QIM), for processing sintered Tungsten (W) Heavy Alloys (WHA). Today, QIM is used for high-volume manufacturing of the silicon-carbide (SiC) particle preforms used in the fabrication of AlSiC by our QuickCast™ process. This same process has been used for many other sinterable ceramic powder materials like aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon aluminum oxynitride (SiAlON), zirconia, mullite, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, as well as sinterable powder metal materials, including stainless steel, copper, and now WHA. The QIM process powder spans a broad spectrum of material densities from AlN at 3.2 g/cm3 to WHA at 19.3 g/cm3 with very little process modification, illustrating the process capability.
CPS Quickset™ Injection Molding (QIM)
Quickset™ Injection Molding is a low-pressure powder injection molding process that produces parts with fine surface features at very high solids (>55 vol% – typically at 60+%). To accomplish this, QIM uses a colloidal metal or ceramic powder slurry for injection molding. The slurry is very fluid and can be modified for different material powders or powder material combinations for alloys and composites. Since the slurries are so fluid, accurate in-line process density measurements are used to provide feedback, which assures good dimensional control on the sintered final product.
The high fluidity slurry results in fine surface replication at low pressure, simplifying the injection mold tooling. After the slurry is injected into the mold, the liquid portion is frozen to act as a binder, allowing the part to be removed from the injection mold cavity. Sublimation is used to remove the frozen liquid rapidly, leaving a particulate green body that can be sintered or infiltrated using the QuickCast™ process. The sublimation process is more rapid than the traditional thermoplastic injection molding debinding and is less prone to introduce stresses that can result in part cracking during sintering.
(Left) Green and (Right) Sintered WHA warhead with an average shrinkage of 13%
Additionally, processing at high solids (>55 vol%) using submicron high surface area powders and QIM results in lower sintering temperatures and minimal sintering shrinkage for improved dimensional control (± 0.2 %) and better on linear dimensions) and part-to-part variation.
How QIM Can Help You
The QIM/sintered material approach provides high-volume 3D manufacturing to both sinterable ceramic and metal powders, yielding reasonable dimensional control part reproducibility and highly detailed feature control that cannot be processed by conventional means because of machining cost, brittleness, high hardness, and high melting temperature. This process can fabricate complex geometry products from materials that are difficult to machine cost-effectively due to high hardness or brittleness. Additionally, high-value, high-cost materials can be processed more efficiently and with minimal material waste.
QIM/Sintered Material Attributes
- High Volume Production
- 3-Dimensional Shape Fabrication
- No Machining
- Minimal Material Process Waste
- Wide Material Density Capability
- Fine Feature Replication
- Sintered Dimensional Tolerance Control
- Low Part-to-Part Variation
Global Innovation at CPS Technologies
Ready to discuss your MMC design needs?
CPS offers a suite of innovative solutions to give clients complete peace of mind in their solution. With our state-of-the-art AlSiC composite, proprietary machining processes, and time-tested expertise, we’ll show you why CPS is a trusted partner in the industry.
