9408878 Rose The award is for the development of appropriate ultrasonic sensors for monitoring of powder injection molding processes. Ultrasonic sensors will be used in the die cavity to sense conditions such as short shot/incomplete fillings, flash, jetting, coring, porosity or voids, cracking, feedstock inconsistencies, and density variations. Real time monitoring of the melt front is also proposed. In addition to bulk wave techniques, guided waves techniques will also be used to enable more complete in situ monitoring of the material in the die cavity. Material characterization studies will also be performed and will include bulk and shear moduli from the ultrasonic measurements. Improved understanding of the powder injection molding process will result from use of the sensors to be developed here. High performance products developed for aerospace, automotive, and medical applications are expected to benefit form this technology.
