How Zircoa Brought its High-Performance MgO-PSZ to Ceramic Injection Molding

The Challenge: Performance Without Compromise on Geometry

Ceramic Injection Molding (CIM) is a proven process for producing complex-shaped ceramic components at scale. The process follows a defined sequence: Ceramic powder is compounded with an organic binder to create a flowable feedstock, which is then injection-molded to form a near-net-shape green part. The binder is subsequently removed through debinding, the most process-sensitive step in CIM, where incompatibilities between powder and binder can cause irreversible cracking, warping, or density gradients, making feedstock formulation a critical engineering decision in its own right. The component is then sintered to full density. The result is the ability to produce intricate geometries that conventional press-and-sinter methods cannot achieve efficiently or economically, including undercuts, complex internal channels, and fine features.

For manufacturers producing wear parts, fluid control components, sensors, and other high-performance technical ceramics, CIM offered a compelling path to more complex designs and higher production volumes. But a critical gap persisted: none of the commercially available CIM feedstocks offered the specific performance profile that Zircoa’s established MgO-PSZ compositions were known for.

Magnesia partially stabilized zirconia (MgO-PSZ) is prized for its combination of high wear resistance, fracture toughness, corrosion resistance, and thermal stability. Manufacturers specifying Zircoa’s MgO-PSZ for its proven performance were effectively constrained to press-and-sinter routes, limiting achievable geometry and increasing per-part costs for complex or low-volume series.

The consequences of this gap were real:

• Inability to manufacture intricate near-net-shape components with this high-performance zirconia
• Higher per-part costs for complex or low-volume production series
• Lost opportunities for performance improvements in wear-, temperature-, and corrosion-critical environments
• Barriers to adopting advanced zirconia materials in geometrically demanding new applications

Zircoa recognized that their established Composition 1876 MgO-PSZ powder, already proven across demanding applications including wear parts and ceramic grinding media, had the right material properties to fill this gap if it could be successfully adapted for CIM processing.

The Solution: Proven Material, New Manufacturing Pathway

Zircoa GmbH’s development team identified both the market need and the technical pathway: adapt Composition 1876’s established powder characteristics to a proven CIM binder system, creating a zirconia feedstock that brings MgO-PSZ performance into injection molding workflows without sacrificing material integrity.

To accomplish this, Zircoa partnered with INMATEC Technologies GmbH, a specialist in ceramic and metal injection molding feedstock development. The collaboration centered on adapting Composition 1876 with INMATEC’s INMAFEED thermoplastic binder system, an industry-standard binder already well-regarded for its injection behavior and environmentally friendly debinding process.

The resulting feedstock, Zircoa Composition 1876 INMAFEED, delivered several critical advantages:

• Preserves established MgO-PSZ material performance — CIM-processed components deliver the same wear, corrosion, mechanical, and fracture resistance as conventional press-and-sinter parts
• Enables complex geometries — Injection molding unlocks intricate shapes, fine features, and near-net-shape designs beyond the reach of press-and-sinter
• Compatible with industry-standard processing — Globally adopted across CIM environments, the INMAFEED binder system integrates seamlessly into existing production workflows
• Supports environmentally responsible manufacturing — Designed around a clean debinding process, the INMAFEED binder system minimizes waste and promotes more sustainable production
• Expands application reach — Zircoa’s proven MgO-PSZ performance becomes accessible across a wider range of geometries and manufacturing workflows

The development process involved rigorous evaluation of mechanical, thermal, and chemical resistance benchmarks to confirm that the zirconia CIM feedstock matched the performance characteristics of Zircoa’s established press-and-sinter route. The successful validation confirmed that the feedstock’s material properties were fully transferable to the CIM process; this was a non-negotiable requirement for customers whose applications depend on predictable, certified material behavior.

The feedstock was featured in PIM International, the leading global specialist magazine for powder injection molding — an industry recognition of its significance to the CIM materials landscape.