Papers by Author: Bermha Cha

Abstract: The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility of improvement of surface roughness in the wire-EDMed sample by usinig ultrasonic wave and abrasive particle suspension. For this study, two-type ultrasonic polishing methods were used. Removal of the white layers on surface of EDMed sample depended largely on the movement of the suspended particles : the white layers are removed by the impact of free moving particles due to ultrasonic wave, so-called micro chipping mechanism. Even though the surface roughness was improved very slowly, 3-dimensional fine polishing was achieved in wire-EDMed micro PIM molds. These results indicated that micro polishing by ultrasonic wave using suspension is applicable to improvement of surface roughness of micro parts with 3-dimensional complex shape.

Abstract: In this work, in-mold rheology curves were generated by injection molding machine and the effects of feedstock and mold dimension on in-mold rheology curve were studied. The rheology within mold in µMIM process depends on the shape and/or size of cavity and process conditions rather than intrinsic viscosity of feedstock. The optimum injection speed was determined in region of Newtonian flow of in-mold rheology curve. The dimensional deviation was below about 5 µm in the micro part injected with the optimum speed.

Abstract: Powder Injection molding (PIM) is a cost-effective process for the fabrication of complex shaped parts, and has a great potential in many applications. In this work, an improved wax-based binder was developed for the powder injection molding of TiH₂ powder fabricated by recycling of Ti chip. Fine TiH₂ powders of about 350 nm in particle size were produced by attrition milling of Ti chip in less than five minutes, resulting from simultaneous self-propagating High temperature Synthesis (SHS) and fracturing. TiH₂ feedstock, a mixture of binder and powders, was fabricated with critical powder loading of 68 vol.%. The rheological characteristics of the feedstock were investigated for subsequent processing step. Viscosity of the feedstock showed pseudo-plastic flow behavior and to optimize injection molding parameter, in-mold rheology curve was generated. The results indicated that the recycled TiH₂ feedstock can be used for the fabrication of the complex shaped parts with good shape.