Development of Powder Injection Molding Process for Fabrication of Glass Component

Abstract

Powder injection molding (PIM), which combines the advantages of powder metallurgy and plastic injection molding technologies, has become one of the most efficient methods for the net-shape production of both metal and ceramic components. In this work, plasma display panel glass bodies are prepared by the PIM process. After sintering, the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process is adopted for improving the density and mechanical properties of the PIMed glass bodies. The mechanical and thermal behaviors of the prepared specimens are analyzed through bending tests and dilatometric analysis, respectively. After HIPing, the flexural strength of the prepared glass body reaches up to 92.17 MPa, which is 1.273 and 2.178 times that of the fused glass body and PIMed bodies, respectively. Moreover, a thermal expansion coefficient of 7.816 × 10−6/oC is obtained, which coincides with that of the raw glass powder (7.5-8.0 × 10−6/℃), indicating that the glass body is fully densified after the HIP process.