Rapid material development and processing of complex near-net-shaped parts by PIM

A promising fabrication method in view of large-scale production of complex parts is Powder Injection Molding (PIM) which has been intensively investigated at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). With its near-net-shape precision the method offers particularly the advantage of cost-saving. PIM as special process allows the mass production of components, the creation of composite and prototype materials. Furthermore it is an ideal tool for scientific investigations for R&D in general, and for developing industrial products for a wide range of applications.


This contribution describes the characterization and analyses of prototype materials produced via PIM. The investigation of pure tungsten and oxide or carbide doped tungsten materials comprises the microstructure examination, element allocation, texture analyses, and mechanical testing.
In addition, fabricated near-net-shape Langmuir probes for diagnostics for the French tokamak WEST will be presented.