Powder injection molding 440C stainless steel

Abstract

In this work, the processing steps for producing 440C stainless steel parts by means of powder injection molding technique were investigated. The molded specimens were debinded by solvent debinding followed by thermal debinding methods and were sintered under vacuum atmosphere. Effective densification took place in the temperature range 1,230-1,240°C in the sintering. After heat treatment, specimens sintered at 1,240°C for 30 min had the tensile strength of 876.3 MPa, the hardness of 57.7 HRC. Pitting mainly occurred in injection molding 440C stainless steel specimens in NaCl solution. The content of carbon has serious effect on the shape retention. Some methods, such as preventing from oxidation, are presented to avoid the as-sintered specimens from deformation. © 2009 The Author(s).