OptiMIM's metal injection moulding stands out through its advanced technology and innovative processes, enhancing design flexibility, optimising material use and improving overall production efficiency.

Metal injection molding machine stamping parts

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Benefits of metal injection moulding

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MIM technology ensures high-quality, small metal components at scale, with exceptional control of chemical composition across various alloys.

Advanced technology

We offer a wide range of materials for metal injection moulding, including stainless steel, tungsten alloys and cobalt-chromium superalloys, as well as the ability to create custom alloys tailored to your specific performance and cost requirements.

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Wide range of alloys

Metal injection moulding enables multiple parts to be integrated into a single component, significantly reducing costs associated with machining and secondary operations.

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Net-shape components

OptiMIM’s in-house tooling enhances quality control, extends tool life and ensures greater production consistency, delivering superior results for every component.

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In-house tooling

Maximise your manufacturing potential

Determine whether MIM is the ideal solution for your metal manufacturing needs by assessing your project requirements, production volume and desired material properties.

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MIM is ideal for producing intricate shapes and designs that would be difficult or impossible to achieve using traditional manufacturing methods.

Complex geometries

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Where a project requires large quantities of parts, MIM provides an efficient and cost-effective solution for mass production.

High-volume production

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MIM parts can often be designed to be lighter without sacrificing strength, benefiting industries such as aerospace and automotive.

Reduced weight

MIM delivers high dimensional accuracy and repeatability, which are crucial for components requiring tight tolerances.

Precision and consistency

Is metal injection moulding right for you?

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Interested in manufacturing complex-geometry parts with the strength and durability of metal? Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) with specialty alloys enables expanded manufacturing possibilities in industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical, electronics and more.Join an informative webinar on <a href="/materials/special-and-custom-materials" target="_self">OptiMIM's specialty alloys</a>, using the metal injection moulding (MIM) process. Discover how MIM seamlessly combines plastic injection moulding with the strength of metals, offering unparalleled design flexibility and scalability.  In this webinar, learn about: <ul><li>OptiMIM's range of specialty alloys</li><li>Kovar, copper, Nitronic 60, nickel iron, silicon iron and S7</li><li>Production of complex geometries using MIM</li><li>MIM cost-effectiveness through optimised material usage</li><li>MIM scalability, from prototypes to high-volume production</li><li>Additional topics</li></ul>Complete the form to register for our free on-demand webinar:

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Learn how specialty alloys expand the limits of MIM applications, enabling parts with exceptional levels of durability, corrosion resistance and strength.

Moulding with MIM specialty alloys | OptiMIM webinar

David Fuerst

Senior Project Manager

Steve LeBlanc

Engineering Manager

This webinar explores the advantages of Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) with specialty alloys, showcasing its ability to produce complex, durable and cost-effective metal parts for various industries. 

Moulding excellence with MIM specialty alloys

<h2>Is Metal Injection Moulding Right for Your Project?</h2>With numerous metalworking solutions available, engineers often ask, "What is MIM and when is it the right choice?"Metal injection moulding combines the technologies of thermoplastic injection moulding and powder metallurgy to produce complex-shaped, high-density, high-performance metal parts. But when does MIM deliver the greatest return on investment compared with other processes?  Sign up for the on-demand webinar, What’s a Good Fit for MIM, to discover the characteristics that make a component a good candidate for the MIM process.&nbsp;The webinar covers:<ul><li><a href="/additional-capabilities/engineering" target="_self">MIM design capabilities</a> and part criteria</li><li>Getting the most value from the <a href="/metal-injection-molding/process" target="_self">MIM process</a></li><li>Where <a href="/metal-injection-molding/benefits" target="_self">MIM saves costs</a></li><li>And more!</li></ul>Fill in the form to access the webinar on demand.

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Understand which component geometries, materials and tolerances make a project ideal for precision metal injection moulding with OptiMIM expertise today

What’s a Good Fit for MIM? | OptiMIM Webinar

This on-demand webinar explores when to choose Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) over other metalworking solutions, covering MIM’s design capabilities, cost-saving potential and optimal applications. 

What’s a Good Fit for MIM?

Manufacturers’ expectations have reached an all-time high. Customers serve consumers who want something more—greater strength and density, more durable products and something unique—tailored specifically for them. How can a <a href="/metal-injection-molding/process" target="_self">metal injection moulding (MIM)</a> business keep pace?How can the limited design freedom manufacturers faced in the past be overcome? It all comes down to the very foundation of the&nbsp;MIM process—feedstock. OptiMIM aims to manufacture using precisely the right blend of materials to create personalised components that perform to the highest standards.  Sources and related content<h2>What is feedstock?</h2>What exactly is feedstock? Fundamentally, it is a hybrid technology combining powder metallurgy and plastic injection moulding. Fine, spherical metal powder, almost resembling dust, is mixed with plastic and paraffin wax—or what we call the "binder" system. The binder system gives the part its shape according to your geometry, while the metal powder is carried along in the process.The final feedstock is approximately 40% binder and 60% metal by volume, with powder particle sizes ranging from 10 to 25 microns. A micron equals one millionth of a metre and, to put this into perspective, 40 microns is the smallest particle visible to the human eye. Did you know that the average human hair is 100 microns wide? All three materials are mixed together, extruded through our proprietary mixing system and pelletised.The pellets are then fed into injection moulding machines and moulded to form the first stage of the part – the "green part". Many subsequent processes take place to produce the final net-shape part, but feedstock is the foundation.<h3>Feedstock process control</h3>Custom-formulating alloys adds a layer of complexity to the process. It is critical for suppliers to have a sound, uniform and repeatable feedstock mixture to ensure optimal consistency in mechanical performance and properties. The knowledge and expertise of metallurgists must be precise, with very tight controls in place when incorporating multiple materials into the feedstock. Consistent dimensional controls are required not only from part to part, but also from batch to batch. This enables OptiMIM to achieve predictable and repeatable shrinkage of our components during the sintering phase every time.With an emphasis on consistent dimensional control, you can invest the time and resources needed to fully optimise your design for performance without the traditional constraints associated with other processes.<h2>Design freedom with metal injection moulding</h2>Product performance is paramount. Customisation of MIM feedstock enables the design of technology and final parts that cannot be achieved by any other means.&nbsp;Rather than simply selecting a material to suit a part, the ideal combination should be created for optimal performance.With the ability to produce its own feedstock, OptiMIM solves many complex design challenges. The combination of plastic injection moulding and powder metallurgy gives <a href="/additional-capabilities/engineering" target="_self">design engineers</a> freedom from the traditional constraints of shaping stainless steel, nickel iron, copper, titanium and other metals. Unlike other suppliers, engineers are not limited to an off-the-shelf metal that compromises project performance requirements.Using unsuitable materials in any process can affect part performance. That is why <a href="/materials/metal-selector-tool" target="_self">selecting specific material characteristics</a> with a greater degree of fine-tuning delivers better part performance. The proprietary combination of metal, wax and plastic polymers, together with other process controls, enables us to deliver tighter tolerances, high densities and smooth finishes compared with other forms of metal injection, while still producing precise, complex parts in large quantities. Because OptiMIM controls all variables in feedstock development as well as production processes, we deliver tighter tolerance control from part to part and batch to batch, with higher capability. This vertical integration gives us a unique advantage in the MIM industry.<h2>Designing metal parts for performance</h2>Design engineers can approach the MIM process without conventional design constraints. MIM builds component geometry by placing material only where it is needed for function and strength. Multiple components can be combined into a single MIM component, and the resulting geometry is stronger, more cost-effective and usually closer to the original design intent than assembling multiple parts. By consolidating components, risk is reduced, with less potential for part failure.As all features are engineered into the tooling, part complexity will not drive cost. Conventional design methods, such as deburring or chamfering a stamped part, often result in a higher part price when complexity is added.MIM dominates at the intersection of complexity, precision, quantity and performance, and it all begins with custom-formulated feedstock. The material you choose must deliver high-performing parts, regardless of component complexity.

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Explore how tailoring material properties in MIM unlocks new possibilities for miniaturisation, weight reduction and formation of complex component geometries.

Customising materials for greater design freedom | OptiMIM

Customised feedstock in Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) provides greater design freedom, tighter tolerances and optimal performance by combining the benefits of plastic injection moulding and powder metallurgy. 

Customising MIM materials for greater design freedom

Expand your knowledge of OptiMIM’s metal injection moulding 

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Produce precise, intricate components by merging multiple parts into a single unit

Benefits of metal injection moulding

Is metal injection moulding right for you?

Complex geometries

High-volume production

Reduced weight

Precision and consistency

Beyond the basics

Expand your knowledge of OptiMIM’s metal injection moulding

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