Escalating Automobile as well as Electronics Industry is all set to Boost the Demand for PIM in the Near Future

Powder injection molding (PIM) is an efficient process that produces complex components to desired shape in a variety of materials including stainless steel, alloys, and so on, resulting in reduced secondary and assembly operations. Powder injection molding (PIM) components find their applications various industries such as automotive, electronics, medical, aerospace & defense, and many more. Electronics and automotive sector are the major application areas for the powder injection molding market. Automotive sector has become a major consumer of powder injection molding parts, especially metal injection molding parts due to their diverse properties. High strength, high complexity parts are used in engines, gearboxes, turbochargers, locking mechanisms, steering systems and electronic systems, to name just a few. Metal injection molding process in automotive sector is mainly used for the manufacturing of products such as Rocker arms for BMW engines, shift lever, turbo charger vanes, Shifter knobs and many more. Automotive plastic and polymer automotive components, lacquer plates and test bars demand thorough processing by injection moulding test installations. The European automotive industry utilizes PIM applications over 50% of the time. Automotive sensors is the prime driving force for the powder injection molding market in the automotive industry. Moreover, Ceramic powder injection molding provides the cost effective manufacturing method for large production of ceramic parts for automotive industry.

On a similar note, Electronics, telecom and instrumentation are the sections where PIM demonstrate the most astounding business sector entrance. The demand for small, precision, high volume components has allowed MIM to thrive in the electronics sector. The increased demand for high-frequency-modules for communication network and automotive sensors is the main driver for the development. Electronics industry is a major user of Metal Injection Molded parts, accounting for more than 50% of parts sales in Asia. A recent advancement in using MIM in electronics is the Apple’s lightning connector and related components. Metal Injection Molding is used to manufacture Apple’s Lightning connector which is a component that are produced in the tens of millions per week at peak production. Such minor yet complex high volume components can be manufactured in multi-cavity molds to net-shape. This is just one of many MIM applications that can be found in smartphones and mobile devices produced by a wide range of OEMs. The consumer electronics market is, indeed, one of the drivers behind MIM, whose growth is largely taking place in Asia, specifically in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Singapore and South Korea.