What is MIM? Metal Injection Molding (MIM) is a new near net molding technology which combines powder metallurgy with plastic injection molding. The technical principle is: first of all, the metal powder and binder are mixed to granulate, and then the produced powder particles are injected into the mold made in advance to stick and form, and then through acid catalytic debonding, and then sintering, some sintering products also need further heat treatment and machining to form the final product. Since the particles made of the mold can be injected into it once the mold is made, the MIM process has the natural advantages of customized and batch quantified production, which is suitable for the efficient production of small and complex structural parts, and can be adapted to titanium alloy, cemented carbide, nickel-based alloy, stainless steel, copper alloy and other metal materials.
MIM has efficient mass production capacity for complex structural parts. MIM adopts injection molding process, which can be injected into the mold after the completion of the mold manufacturing, the design freedom is high, and the batch quantitative production of complex structural parts can be supported by the mold. In addition, the MIM process supports the production of stainless steel, aluminum alloy, nickel-based alloy, titanium alloy, superalloy and other gold materials, and has a wide range of application; Through the post-treatment process, the formed structural parts have significant comprehensive advantages compared with other processes in important indicators such as density, strength and surface finish.
MIM process is widely used, and consumer electronics are the main products in our country. China's MIM market is growing steadily. According to the estimates of China Commercial Industry Research Institute, China's MIM market is expected to reach 9.5 billion yuan in 2022, with a CAGR of 11.7% in 2016-22. It is expected that by 2026, China's MIM market will reach 14.1 billion yuan. CAGR for 2022-26 is 10.4%. According to the data of China Economic Research Institute, the global MIM market is mainly composed of China, Europe and the United States and other regions, China is the world's largest market, accounting for 41% of the global market share, Europe and North America market accounted for 17% share each. From the perspective of downstream applications, China's MIM market applications are mainly concentrated in the field of consumer electronics, including mobile phone SIM card slots, decorative rings, cooling fans, coil motors and other parts. The proportion of mobile phone/smart wear/computer/hardware/medical/automotive is 56.3%/11.7%/8.3%/6.9%/4.5%/3.5%, which is significantly different from the pattern of military, medical and automotive markets in Europe and the United States.
