2001 Volume 48 Issue 1 Pages 82-86
Non-uniform sintering shrinkage is a critical issue in MIM which the size and shape of the compacts are to be precisely controlled. To overcome this problem, we need to know how the green compacts shrink during sintering. In-situ measurement system with digital image correlation method enables us to measure the non-uniform sintering shrinkage, in two-dimension on non-contact and real time basis. In this paper, we report the measurement of the shrinking behavior of a metal-injection-molded using the digital image correlation method. The digital image correlation method is based on the principle that the brightness distribution is specific at each point on the surface of an object and moves with the surface displacement. The MIM sample was found to show a non-uniform shrinkage; the shrinkage beneath curved surface is lager than that beneath flat surface. This non-uniform shrinkage was attributed to the difference in packing density.
