Improving an easy-to-debind PEG/PPC/PMMA-based binder

In this work, we developed a new polymeric binder based on polyethylene glycol/polypropylene carbonate (PEG/PPC). The effect of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) on the rheological properties, homogeneity, phase morphology, and thermal behaviour of the PEG/PPC/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based feedstock was investigated. Mechanical properties and microstructures of the sintered samples were reported alongside the impurity measurements. The rheological analysis confirms that incorporating PVAc into the PEG/PPC/PMMA blend can improve the rheological properties and homogeneity of the feedstock. The phase morphology study further indicates that PVAc effectively improves PPC dispersion in the PEG matrix. The Ti metal injection moulding feedstocks, formulated from this new binder system, demonstrated good rheological properties and homogeneity, leading to Ti products with good mechanical properties (relative sintered density 98%, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) 598 MPa, and elongation 13.7%).