Mechanical properties of new and recycled PIM feedstocks

Abstract

This paper deals with the mechanical properties of test specimens of commercially available PIM feedstocks based on a stainless steel powder. After injection molding, a part of the polymer binder has been removed in water. This process was followed by thermal removal of residual binder and sintering at 1360 °C in hydrogen atmosphere. For production of the mechanical test bars fresh and recycled feedstocks were employed. The aim is to determine the changes in mechanical performance resulting from injection molding processing stage, especially possible separation of feedstock components – the stainless steel powder and the polymer binder