MIM: Pioneering a New Era in Aerospace Manufacturing

The aerospace industry, as the "crown" of high-end manufacturing, imposes nearly stringent requirements on components: they must not only possess extreme properties such as high strength, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance but also balance lightweight design, complex irregular structures, and micron-level precision. Traditional manufacturing processes often face bottlenecks in meeting these demands, including low material utilization, high molding difficulty, and persistently high costs. Metal Injection Molding (MIM) technology, with its core advantage of "near-net-shape forming," has become a key solution to overcoming aerospace manufacturing challenges.

MIM technology is a creative integration of plastic injection molding and powder metallurgy, featuring a clear and efficient core process. Initially, metal powder is mixed with a binder in precise proportions to create a homogeneous feedstock. The feedstock is then injected at high pressure into precision molds using injection molding equipment, forming a "green compact" that matches the shape of the part. Subsequently, the binder is removed through a debinding process, and finally, the green compact is sintered at high temperatures under a protective atmosphere, allowing the metal powder particles to fully densify and produce a finished product with excellent performance. This process fundamentally addresses the challenges of forming complex parts, achieving a material utilization rate of over 95%, far surpassing the 30%-50% efficiency of traditional machining.

In the manufacturing of aero engines, MIM technology demonstrates irreplaceable value. Fuel nozzles must achieve precise fuel atomization in high-temperature gas environments, with their intricate internal flow channel structures and thin-wall designs imposing stringent requirements on forming techniques. Nozzles produced via MIM technology can not only accurately replicate complex flow channels but also maintain stable mechanical properties in environments exceeding 600°C by utilizing high-temperature alloy powders, achieving over a 15% improvement in fuel atomization efficiency. Additionally, key components such as engine blade adjusting rods and combustion chamber film cooling holes are manufactured through MIM processes, enabling integrated forming that significantly reduces assembly errors and enhances engine operational reliability.

In the field of aerospace, MIM technology serves as the core support for balancing lightweight and high strength. Miniature connectors in satellite communication systems require multi-channel signal transmission within confined spaces, where their precision tooth and pin structures are difficult to process using traditional methods. With micrometer-level forming accuracy, MIM technology successfully produces connectors with uniform density and excellent conductivity, reducing weight by 20% compared to traditional parts and significantly improving signal transmission stability. In the manufacturing of components such as spacecraft brackets and precision gears for probes, MIM technology also reduces the number of parts through integrated forming, lowering launch payload costs.

Currently, MIM technology has achieved large-scale applications in the aerospace field both domestically and internationally, with multiple military-industrial enterprises and research institutions establishing dedicated production lines. However, the technology still faces challenges such as high costs of premium metal powders and difficulties in controlling sintering deformation for large-sized components. In the future, with breakthroughs in nano-powder preparation and intelligent sintering temperature control, MIM technology will enable the manufacturing of more complex and larger aerospace components, injecting strong momentum into the development of the aerospace industry toward higher precision, lower costs, and greater lightweighting.