While new developments are often said to be “at the cutting edge” of technology, it’s not so often that it’s true in both a literal and metaphorical sense. But that was the achievement of MIMItalia in producing what they call a double bulge diamond bead for diamond wires used for stonecutting. The invention took the Award of Merit in the metal injection moulding (MIM) category at Toulouse.
Diamond beads are traditionally hot pressed or produced by press-and-sinter, but now MIMItalia have succeeded in producing and full-scale testing beads made by the metal injection moulding (MIM) process. The method has been patented and a trade mark deposited.
Innovation was a strong strand in the MIM category ands the two runners-up that carried off “Highly commended” plaques showed it in different ways. A gear set for a brush cutter was a challenge overcome by mG miniGears whose production processes ensured that tooth density was sufficient to withstand the stresses and strains of hard working tool life. As a result of this success, powder metal parts have been introduced into a mass manufactured tool.
The other winner was innovative in a rather different way. Tuning a guitar is a matter of about 30 seconds’ attention – if you’re an experienced technician. Amateurs can, well, take a little longer. But not any more. Using Maxon Motor’s MIM-manufactured automatic guitar tuner the tuning process is reduced to two blinks of an eye – about 1.5 seconds.
In the Ferrous and Structural parts category the prizes went to the more traditional PM proving ground of automotive transmission parts. The Award of Merit winner was Sintertech SAS with their transfer case sliding sleeve. This part was traditionally made from two wrought steel forged parts but PM manufacture has cut a number of stages and cost from the process.
The highly commended prize in this category went to PMG Füssen for another sliding sleeve assembly, this time for a synchronising unit for a light truck manual transmission.
Newly introduced materials topped both of the two remaining categories - Hoeganaes’ AncorMax 200 in the International category and Uddeholm’s Vancron 40 in Materials and equipment.
AncorMax 200 is a specially formulated lubricant-binder system that allows densities of 7.5gcm3 to 7.58g/cm3 to be achieved at conventional sintering temperatures with minimal capital investment.
Vancron 40 is a new PM tool steel designed using advanced computer calculations of thermodynamics. The makers, Uddeholm Tooling AB, started from the point of what they wanted, then worked back through possible ingredients and process conditions to achieve their aim – a martensitic matrix with a large amount of dispersed mainly vanadium carbonitrides.
Runners-up in the two categories were a MIM cold plate heat sink in the International section and Dorst TPA – HS CNC multiplaten press without die set in Material and equipment.