Microstructure evolution of 316L stainless steel micro components prepared by micro powder injection molding

Fabrication of micro components comprising of functional units of different dimensional order, ϕ100μm, ϕ80μm and ϕ60μm, by micro powder injection molding is described in the paper. The microstructure is characterized for various microsize structures and substructures under different sintering conditions. The micro components are successfully molded, debound and sintered based on an in-house feedstock. Although sintered as an integral component, the microsize structure is at final stage sintering whereas the substructure is at intermediate stage sintering within the temperatures studied. The smallest microsize structures, ϕ60μm, have the highest relative density. Higher surface area/volume ratio of the microsize structures is attributed to the advanced sintering. XPS results show that oxides on the debound micro components and consequent reduction products during hydrogen sintering attribute to the formation and progression of the observed dense layers.