Ceramic Injection
Moulding Capabilities
About Morgan Advanced Materials
Morgan Advanced Materials is a global materials engineering company which designs and manufactures a wide range of high specification products with extraordinary properties, across multiple sectors and geographies.
From an extensive range of advanced materials we produce components, assemblies and systems that deliver significantly enhanced performance for our customers’ products and processes. Our engineered solutions are produced to very high tolerances and many are designed for use in extreme environments.
The Company thrives on breakthrough innovation. Our materials scientists and applications engineers work in close collaboration with customers to create outstanding, highly differentiated products that perform more efficiently, more reliably and for longer.
Morgan Advanced Materials has a global presence with over 9,000 employees across 50 countries serving specialist markets in the energy, transport, healthcare, electronics, security and defence, petrochemical and industrial sectors. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange in the engineering sector.
Why Ceramic Injection Moulding (CIM)
should be considered
CIM offers a solution when part complexity goes beyond the boundaries of more basic forming technologies such as dry pressing. This allows engineers greater versatility and freedom in designing components that previously would have been deemed as too difficult or expensive to manufacture. Ceramics have significant advantages characterised by their outstanding physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal and/or electrical properties.
Global Technical Support and Customer Service
With a world-leading reputation and manufacturing sites on three continents, our sales and technical support network provides assistance throughout the product design and development process, from prototyping to full production.
This enables us to provide the structure and capability to work with global businesses at national and international level. Whilst our quality systems ensure adherence to specifications and full traceability.
What is Ceramic Injection Moulding?
The CIM process begins with very fine ceramic powders. The powders are compounded with polymer binders to produce a pelletised feedstock. During moulding, binders melt to form a liquid medium that carries the ceramic powders into the mould during the injection stage.
Using an injection moulding machine similar to that used in conventional plastic moulding, the feedstock is forced into a mould cavity forming a net shape part. Moulds can be single-cavity or multi-cavity configurations.
After forming, the part goes through a two-stage process. First is pyrolysis or “debinding” to remove the binder, followed by sintering in a high temperature kiln to form a fully dense ceramic component.
During sintering the component shrinks uniformly by as much as 20% while retaining the complex shape. With good process control, it is possible to achieve a uniform and repeatable shrinkage leading to tight tolerances, reducing the likelihood of requiring additional processing afterwards.
The benefits of CIM
Accommodates extremely complex geometric components Provides unique, economic solutions to increasingly stringent
material and product design requirements
Excellent batch to batch repeatability and process capabilities achieving a tolerance of +/– <0.5%
High surface finish quality without the need for additional finishing processes
Excellent batch to batch repeatability with exceptional process capabilities
Can be used for metallised applications
Superior material performance, high hardness and mechanical strength, wear, corrosion and weathering resistant, dimensionally stable, high working temperature and good electrical insulator
Economies of scale available include macro and micro sized components
Materials:
Morgan offers a range of high performance materials formulated specifically for the CIM process. The materials have been designed in line with our customers’ requirements to give optimal characteristics in challenging applications.
Materials we work with include:
Hilox 998 (99.5% Alumina) Yttria stabilised Zirconia
Zirconia Toughened Alumina (ZTA) Silicon Nitride
Custom Developed Materials
Typical Applications:
Diagnostic Equipment Flow sensors and meters Fluid and power handling Mass Spectrometry Oil well submersible pumps RF ablation instruments Surgical instruments Valves and bearings
Tools paramount to the success
of the CIM process
Moldflow
®Analysis
Morgan Advanced Materials conducts Moldflow®
simulation and analysis in order to optimise the part and mould design. On the computer, adjustments are made to gate positions, wall thickness, gate positions and cooling parameters to help achieve success. By performing this analysis early in the design process, many problems can be addressed and improvements can be implemented quickly at low cost and without causing expensive delays in the production schedule.
Tool Design
Today cost is an increasingly important consideration; CIM offers virtually endless solutions for delivering repeatable, ultra high precision ceramic components. Engineers need versatility and flexibility when designing advanced components and one of the main benefits is that it allows for designs that previously may have been too difficult or expensive to manufacture with other materials, to become commercially viable. Morgan Advanced Materials can design injection moulding tools with single or multiple impressions, over a wide range of scales; from macro to micro sized components to suit our customers’ requirements.
Rapid Prototyping
In the ever changing and evolving business environment the constant need to reduce the time it takes to bring a new product to market is recognised by Morgan. We work with our customers from the initial concept to a final differentiated design solution. Our rapid prototyping service can be used during the development phase of each project to ensure our customers’ receive an optimised cost effective product.
Rapid prototyping is one tool we have to support a fasttrack path from concept to production samples.
CIM Production Process
Project Management
With over 10 years of ceramic injection moulding experience, our dedicated team of specialist sales, customer service and application engineering staff, will work with our customers at every stage of the project. From concept through to development, commercialisation and finally production scale manufacturing, we believe that working closely with our customers is key to ensuring a project is delivered successfully.
A precision engineered tip made by Morgan Advanced Materials is being used in a new treatment to ablate tumours. The minimally invasive procedure means that patient trauma following surgery is reduced and post operation recovery times are significantly shorter.
70%
reduction in hospital recuperation time.
3D Computer Generated Model
(used for feasibility study)
Prototypes
(CNC machined directly from 3D model)
Mould Tool Manufacture
(Moldflow® analysis if required)
CIM Process
Metrology & Validation
(Direct comparison to model)
Production Sign Off With Customer
Case Study: Ablation Tips
T E C H N I C A L C E R A M I C S
For all enquiries, please contact our specialist sales and manufacturing sites:
Europe
Morgan Advanced Materials Morgan Drive Stourport-on-Severn Worcestershire DY13 8DW United Kingdom T +44 (0) 1299 872210 F +44 (0) 1299 872218 [email protected]
Asia
Morgan Advanced Materials 150 Kampong Ampat 05-06A KA Centre Singapore 368324 T +65 6595 0000 F +65 6595 0005 [email protected]
South America
Morgan Advanced Materials Avenida do Taboão 3265- São Bernardo do Campo – SP CEP 09656 000 Brasil T +55 (11) 4075 0400 F +55 (11) 4075 7547 [email protected]
North America
Morgan Advanced Materials 4000 Westchase Boulevard Suite 170, Raleigh, NC 27607-3970 USA T +1 (855) 809 9571 F +1 (706) 622 4424 [email protected]
Morgan Advanced Materials plc Quadrant, 55-57 High Street,
Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1LP United Kingdom
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M O R G A N A D VA N C E D M AT E R I A L S
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