At the "World PM2016 Congress and Exhibition" to be held from 9 to 13 October in Hamburg, Germany, Arburg will demonstrate the cost-efficient production of smartphone housings on Stand 129. The innovative powder injection moulding application implemented jointly with partner BASF, which will be shown on a hydraulic Allrounder 470 S, is a production-efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional machining processes. As part of the Congress accompanying the trade fair, Christian Knöpfle, Application Technology Consulting at Arburg, will report on the results of his Bachelor thesis on the quality optimisation of MIM parts."The booming international smartphone market offers huge potential for powder injection moulding," says Arburg PIM expert Hartmut Walcher. "We're receiving more and more inquiries from this segment at international trade fairs. As a result, we've now established a joint venture with BASF for an innovative PIM application that will be seen for the first time at the World PM2016 fair. This enables significant cost savings in comparison with conventional machining processes."
Exhibition: innovative smartphone application
A hydraulic Allrounder 470 S with a clamping force of 1,100 kN and PIM equipment will produce back housings for smartphones in Hamburg. Catamold 17-4 PH Plus from BASF is used as the feedstock. In addition to the back housing, the changeable hot-runner mould featuring liquid temperature control is also designed to produce a closed or four-part frame for smartphone housings.At the World PM2016 trade fair, a green compact for a smartphone back housing in an Arburg design will be produced in a cycle time of around one minute. In order to minimise part distortion at a wall thickness of only around one millimetre, the mould temperature is dynamically controlled in the subsequent sintering process to ensure a constant green density throughout the entire part. The reason for dynamic mould temperature control is the significantly higher thermal conductivity of the feedstock compared to thermoplastics. A linear MULTILIFT SELECT robotic system gently removes the moulded green compacts and sets them down on a slide rail.
