Powder Injection Molding of Multimaterial Parts - Self Lubricating Steel Combined with Plain-Carbon Steel

Powder Injection Molding allows processing of multifunctional parts through combination of different materials in a single structure. This technique so-called Two Components Powder Injection Molding has been developed some years ago and now is rapidly being considered for many engineering applications. In this paper, some important aspects of materials selection and processing conditions are reviewed in order to look insight of the technology. To show how successful can be the technique, carbonyl iron feedstock was co-sintered to the recently developed self-lubricating steel, aiming at different tribological properties in each side of the final component. Defect-free parts were obtained and the tensile resistance was in the same range of single material parts, representing a very strong bonding interface.