• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.342-350
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• 2009

Development of nanoparticulate materials technology is essential to processing of highly functional nanoparticulate materials and components with small and complex shape. In this paper, the effect of particle size on surface roughness and shrinkage of sintered Fe-8 wt%Ni nanopowder components fabricated by PIM were investigated. The Fe-8 wt%Ni nanopowder was prepared by hydrogen reduction of ball-milled Fe$_2$O$_3$-NiO powder. Feedstock of nanopowder prepared with the wet-milled powder was injection molded into double gear shaped part at 120$^{\circ}C$. After sintering, the sintered part showed near full densified microstructure having apparently no porosity (98%T.D.). Surface roughness of sintered bulk using nanopowder was less than 815 nm and it was about seven times lower than 7 $\mu$m that is typically obtainable from a sintered part produced from PIM.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2009

In this study, binderless consolidation processes of ultra foe Si powder, by-products of making high purity poly-Si in the current method, were systematically investigated for use as economical solar-grade feedstock. The average diameter of the silicon powder was $7.8{\mu}m$. The main contaminants of the fine silicon powder were $SiO_2$ type oxide and humidity. The chemical pretreatment using the HF solution was observed to be effective for the improvement of the compactability of the silicon powder and the density ratio and the strength of the silicon powder compacts. The yield of the binder-free consolidation process increased by 20% under a vacuum condition. In as-received state, the silicon powder were not pure enough to be used as solar grade feed-stock material. After the dry chemical treatments, a sufficiently high purity above solar-grade was able to be achieved.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.86-92
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• 1998

Homegeneous feedstock is necessary to make plastic magents with uniform magnetic properties, therefore the optrimized mixing route and the homogeneity evaluation method are demanded. In this paper, method of homogeneity evaluation and effect of homogeneity on the magnetic prperites were investigated using Sr-ferrite /EVA plastic magnets. The feedstocks with different homogeneity were prepared using batch mixer and single screw extruder. The homogeneities of feedstocks were tested by torgue sensor, capilary rheometer, and measurement of magnetic properties. Mixing torque measurement using torque sensor was an effective method to determine the critical powder loading, but it was nor suitable to suitable to determine the feedstock mixing quality. Particle alignment measurement of a plastic magent was very accurate to evaluate the homogeneity, but expensive equipments were required to make and measure the samples. Pressure measurement using capillary rheometer was a very effective and easy method with high accuracy. Homogeneous feedstock increased the particle alignment of plastic magnet. Remanet flux density and maximum energy product increased linearly and quadratically with increasing particle alignment, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.160-168
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• 2018

Among the components of rotary hooks, a core component of an embroidery sewing system, a study was conducted to apply metal injection molding to the manufacture of a hook body and a housing that was very difficult to mechanical working. The correlation of feedstock, a mixture of binder and SCM 415 metal powder, and properties of the pressure-volume-temperature interrelationship, viscosity, specific heat, and thermal conductivity were measured. Injection molds for the hook body and the housing were developed through injection molding analysis using these properties and conducted injection tests. Optimal injection gate position and number, injection pressure, and injection time were obtained through a comparison of analysis results with the experiment results.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.443-452
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• 2019

In this study, TiO₂-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite granules were prepared via spray drying technique. To investigate the effects of solid content and binder/powder ratio in the slurry on the granulation behavior of TiO₂ powders, the feed compositions were designed to vary over a wide range. The morphology, actual densities, and average granule size and size distribution of the TiO₂-PVA composite granules were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy technique, a gas pycnometer, and an image analyzing program (Image-J), respectively. The results indicate that solid content and the amount of PVA in the feedstock slurry are the dominant factors determining the granule morphology, size, and size distribution of TiO₂-PVA composite. Moreover, it was observed that increasing the solid content and the amount of PVA in the slurry improved the granulation process and reduced the granule defects. For the preparation of spherical TiO₂-PVA composite granules with the minimum amount of non-granulated powders, the optimized composition of the feedstock slurry was found to be 35 wt.% solid and 3 wt.% PVA.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.507-508
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• 2006

In this communication the development of a new metal injection moulding (MIM) system for duplex stainless steels is presented. The metal powders were prepared by premixing 316L and 430L stainless steels gas atomised powders in a ratio of 50:50. The binder used to prepare the feedstock was composed by HDPE and paraffin wax. Torque measurements of the mixture indicated that the maximum amount of metal was 68 vol%. The polymeric part was driven off by thermal debinding and the sintering was performed in low vacuum. The final densities were close to the theoretical ones.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.43-44
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• 2006

The production method of micro sacrificial plastic mold insert metal injection molding, namely ${\mu}-SPiMIM$ process has been proposed to solve specific problems involving the miniaturization of MIM. Two types of sacrificial plastic molds (SP-mold) with fine structures were used: 1) PMMA resist, 2) PMMA mold injected into Ni-electroform, which is a typical LIGA (${\underline{L}}ithographie-{\underline{G}}alvanoformung-{\underline{A}}bformung$) process. Stainless steel 316L feedstock was injection-molded into the SP-molds with multi-pillar structures. This study focused on the effects of metal particle size and processing conditions on the shrinkage, transcription and surface roughness of sintered parts.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2023

In additive manufacturing, the flowability of feedstock particles determines the quality of the parts that are affected by different parameters, including the chemistry and morphology of the powders and particle size distribution. In this study, the microstructures and flowabilities of gas-atomized heat-resistant alloys for additive manufacturing applications are investigated. A KHR45A alloy powder with a composition of Fe-30Cr-40Mn-1.8Nb (wt.%) is fabricated using gas atomization process. The microstructure and effect of powder chemistry and morphology on the flow behavior are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and revolution powder analysis. The results reveal the formation of spherical particles composed of single-phase FCC dendritic structures after gas atomization. SEM observations show variations in the microstructures of the powder particles with different size distributions. Elemental distribution maps, line scans, and high-resolution XPS results indicate the presence of a Si-rich oxide accompanied by Fe, Cr, and Nb metal oxides in the outer layer of the powders. The flowability behavior is found to be induced by the particle size distribution, which can be attributed to the interparticle interactions and friction of particles with different sizes.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.370-376
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• 2017

In this study we manufacture a Ni-Cr-B-Si +WC/12Co composite coating layer on a Cu base material using a laser cladding (LC) process, and investigate the microstructural and mechanical properties of the LC coating and Ni electroplating layers (reference material). The initial powder used for the LC coating layer is a powder feedstock with an average particle size of $125{\mu}m$. To identify the microstructural and mechanical properties, OM, SEM, XRD, room and high temperature hardness, and wear tests are implemented. Microstructural observation of the initial powder and LC coating layer confirm the layer is composed mainly of ${\gamma}-Ni$ phases and WC and $Cr_{23}C_6$ carbides. The measured hardness of the LC coating and Ni electroplating layers are 653 and 154 Hv, respectively. The hardness measurement from room up to high temperatures of $700^{\circ}C$ result in a hardness decrease as the temperature increases, but the hardness of the LC coating layer is higher for all temperature conditions. Room temperature wear results show that the wear loss of the LC coating layer is 1/12 of the wear level of the Ni electroplating layer. The measured bond strength is also greater in the LC coating than the Ni electroplating.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.231-240
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• 2012

During the past two decades, Metal Injection Molding(MIM) has become a very competitive technology to fabricate small, precise and complex-shaped parts in large quantities. In this research, the applicability of MIM technology in the mass-production of the high precision fuze parts to save manufacturing cost was investigated. The water-atomized 17-4PH stainless steel powder, one of the best corrosion-resistant high strength materials, was injection-molded into real-shape fuze part and flat tensile specimens. The injection-molded parts were thermally debound in hydrogen gas flow without solvent extraction. Sintering of the debound parts was carried out in vacuum at temperatures ranging from $1150^{\circ}C$ to $1370^{\circ}C$. The sintering behavior, mechanical properties, dimensional precision, corrosion resistance of the MIMed 17-4PH stainless parts were investigated. It was found that almost all the properties of the MIMed parts were comparable to those of the mechanically machined parts. Also, actual military field tests using both MIMed and mechanically machined fuze parts were performed as well and were found to be very successful.