Abstract
High density and high performance properties have been required to the sintered machine structural materials such as alloy steels, together with the improvement of recent machine functions. As one of the solution, metal injection molding (MIM) technique is hoped to be a suitable process for meeting the above requirements.
In this study, the effect of debinding and sintering conditions on the heat treatment characteristics and mechanical properties of injection molded SCM415 alloy steels were investigated. Retained carbon content, density, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the MIM alloy steels were strongly dependent on the debinding, sintering, and heat treatment conditions. Especially, retained carbon content was precisely controlled by optimizing the debinding and sintering conditions. For the carburization, case hardening was possible and the case depth was similar to the case of wrought steels. Finally, the obtained tensile and fatigue strength of MIM alloy steels were superior to those of the conventional P/M alloy steels.
