Boron (B) is known as the most useful sintering enhancer for ferrous powder.
In this study, the effect of B addition on the sintering of metal injection molded SUS316L steel powder compacts was investigated. 0.4 mass% B powder was mixed with the SUS316L steel powder using a centrifugal ball mill to obtain a uniform and fine dispersion.
It was shown that the binder removal (%) of the MIMed compacts remarkably droped when 0.4 mass % B was added. The sinterablity of the compacts with the B addition was much affected by the debinding temperature: The compacts debound below 300°C were readly sintered to near the theoretical density at relatively low temperature as 1190°C, whereas the compacts debound above 330°C had to be heated above 1240°C to obtain near the theoretical density. The mechanical properties of the compacts with the B addition were extremely sensitive to the sintering temperature. It was also shown that the carbon (C) contents of the sintered compacts with the B addition decreased with increasing both debinding and sintering temperatures.