Singapore’s Advanced Materials Technologies has recently developed and patented a new aluminium metal injection moulding process, they call aluMIM.

The original aluMIM process combines the advantages of injection moulding and the properties of aluminium.

With the increasing drive towards miniaturization with many consumer items such as laptop computers and mobile phones, aluminium parts produced by the aluMIM process offer better thermal conductivity compares to parts produced by more conventional means such as casting, extrusion and machining. Heat sinks in particular, produced using the aluMIM process could revolutionise the design and manufacture of these components for thermal management, electronics and automotive applications given that the price is competitive, performance is improved and improved geometries are possible.

Furthermore, the injection moulding-based process allows greater flexibility and can be used to produce more complex shapes than are possible with these more conventional production methods. This will allow designers increased freedom.

Advanced Materials Technologies plans to commercialise the process in June 2004.