Role of Debinding to Control Mechanical Properties of Powder Injection Molded 316L Stainless Steel

Abstract

316L stainless steel is widely used in various industries due to low cost, ease of availability and exceptional combination of mechanical properties along with corrosion resistance as compared to the other available metal alloys. In powder injection molding, debinding is very critical step and improper debinding can change the final properties dramatically. In the present study, affects of debinding on mechanical properties of powder injection molded 316L stainless steel were studied. The prepared feedstocks were molded according to MPIF 50 standard using vertical injection molding machine (KSA100). The plastic binder was removed at 450°C from the molded test samples using two different furnaces i.e. commercial and laboratory furnace followed by the sintering in vacuum, hydrogen, mixture of H2 and N2 (9:1) and nitrogen at 1325°C for 2hr with post sintering cooling rate 3°C/min . Test samples debound in commercially available furnace showed 97% densification and higher mechanical properties. The corrosion resistance was reduced due to presence of residual carbon during thermal debinding. The presence of carbon and formation of carbides and nitrides were confirmed by XRD and microstructural analysis. The results showed that the test samples debound in commercial furnace showed brittle behavior due to the presence of carbides and nitrides. Test samples sintered in N2 showed 96.3% density and tensile strength 751MPa. This value of strength is twice as compared to the sample debound in laboratory furnace followed by the sintering in vacuum. The achieved mechanical properties in vacuum sintered samples were comparable to the wrought 316L stainless steel (according to ASTM standard).