Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Co and Ti Alloys for Biomedical Applications produced by Metal Injection Molding (MIM)

The present work was carried out in the frame of a scientific cooperation between the Department of Materials Engineering and Industrial Technologies of Trento University and MIMEST spa (Pergine Valsugana, Trento). The cooperation was established to develop the applications of MIM products in the biomedical fields, with the production of both prosthesis and external tutors and surgery tools. In this quite wide and promising area, four materials were investigated: cobalt alloys, titanium alloys, austenitic stainless steel and precipitation hardening stainless steels. The research was mainly focused on the optimization of the properties, in particular the study of the effect of the as sintered microstructure on some properties which are requested for the specific applications. Most of the investigation has been dedicated to the cobalt alloys, since the whole of the open questions was quite large. Consequently, the cobalt alloys took most of the time dedicated to the project.