Book excerpt: Metal injection molding combines the most useful characteristics of powder metallurgy and plastic injection molding to facilitate the production of small, complex-shaped metal components with outstanding mechanical properties. Handbook of Metal Injection Molding, Second Edition provides an authoritative guide to this important technology and its applications. Building upon the success of the first edition, this new edition includes the latest developments in the field and expands upon specific processing technologies. Part one discusses the fundamentals of the metal injection molding process with chapters on topics such as component design, important powder characteristics, compound manufacture, tooling design, molding optimization, debinding, and sintering. Part two provides a detailed review of quality issues, including feedstock characterisation, modeling and simulation, methods to qualify a MIM process, common defects and carbon content control. Special metal injection molding processes are the focus of part three, which provides comprehensive coverage of micro components, two material/two color structures, and porous metal techniques, as well as automation of the MIM process and metal injection molding of large components. Finally, part four explores metal injection molding of particular materials, and has been expanded to include super alloys, carbon steels, precious metals, and aluminum. With its distinguished editor and expert team of international contributors, the Handbook of Metal Injection Molding is an essential guide for all those involved in the high-volume manufacture of small precision parts, across a wide range of high-tech industries such as microelectronics, biomedical and aerospace engineering. Provides an authoritative guide to metal injection molding and its applications Discusses the fundamentals of the metal injection molding processes and covers topics such as component design, important powder characteristics, compound manufacture, tooling design, molding optimization, debinding, and sintering Comprehensively examines quality issues such as feedstock characterization, modeling and simulation, common defects and carbon content control